Supporting Veteran Families in Need Act
The Supporting Veteran Families in Need Act would make permanent the Department of Veterans Affairs’ authority to provide financial assistance for supportive services to very low-income veteran families in permanent housing. In practical terms, it preserves and stabilizes the existing program (often described as Supportive Services for Veteran Families) so that it can continue without periodic reauthorization. The bill also adds language to require that appropriations for fiscal year 2027 and every year thereafter be used to carry out these subsections, reinforcing ongoing funding for the program. In short, the bill ensures both ongoing authorization and continued funding for financial assistance that helps very low-income veteran families obtain and maintain permanent housing with supportive services.
Key Points
- 1Introduces the bill as H.R. 585, titled the “Supporting Veteran Families in Need Act,” introduced January 21, 2025, by Rep. LaLota with several co-sponsors; referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
- 2Makes permanent the VA authority to provide financial assistance for supportive services for very low-income veteran families in permanent housing (under 38 U.S.C. §2044(e)).
- 3Renumbers existing subsections A–H in §2044(e) to (1)–(8) to accommodate the new paragraph.
- 4Adds a new paragraph (9) to §2044(e): “The amounts that are appropriated to carry out such subsections for fiscal year 2027 and each fiscal year thereafter.”
- 5The bill does not specify funding amounts, eligibility changes, or new program features beyond permanency and explicit ongoing funding for future years.