2004 Public Policy Recommendations

Allocate $75 million in FY 2005 from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical care account to the Homeless Provider Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program. 

Allocate $750,000 in FY 2005 from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical care account to the Homeless Veteran Service Provider Technical Assistance Program (HVSPTAP).

U.S. Senators—All Senators—Write a letter to Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies (VA-HUD) Chair Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-MO) and Ranking Member Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) urging them to include report language with the FY 2005 VA-HUD appropriations measure instructing the Veterans Affairs Secretary to allocate VA appropriations to the GPD program at the full $75 million authorized level and to the HSVPTAP program at the full $750,000 level.  Senators on the Appropriations Committee—Submit suggested report language to Chairman Bond and Senator Mikulski instructing the Veterans Affairs Secretary to allocate VA appropriations to the GPD program at the full $75 million authorized level and to the HVSPTAP at the full $750,000 authorized level.

U.S. Representatives—All Representatives—Write a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi urging the Department to allocate VA appropriations to the GPD program at the full $75 million authorized level and to the HVSPTAP at the full $750,000 authorized level.

Issue Status

The President’s FY 2005 Budget, submitted to Congress in February 2004, does not report the amount of funding expected to be expended by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in FY 2005 on the GPD program or the HVSPTAP.

In late July, the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives approved an FY 2005 VA-HUD appropriations measure with $30.3 billion for the Veterans Health Administration, $1.9 billion above the FY 2004 level.  The Committee has not yet released report language in order for a determination to be made whether it has issued any instructions to VA regarding funding allocations to GPD program or the HVSPTAP.

The Senate VA-HUD Subcommittee may mark-up its version of an FY 2005 VA-HUD appropriations bill in early September.

Why this Matters

• The GPD program is an essential component of the VA’s continuum of care for homeless veterans, assuring the availability of social services, employment supports, and direct treatment or referral to medical treatment.
• VA estimates that it will need the full $75 million authorized in current law simply to keep pace with increasing per diem payments to GPD providers (rates are adjusted annually for inflation) and additional per diem payments to providers with new GPD programs coming on-line.
• Community-based and faith-based organizations serving homeless veterans rely on a complex set of funding and service delivery streams with multiple agencies in order to assemble comprehensive housing and supportive services. 
• These providers face a capacity gap around managing this complexity.  The HVSPTAP provides capacity-building assistance to these providers to manage their organizational and fiscal challenges.

Background

The Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program, within the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA), provides competitive grants to community-based, faith-based, and public organizations to offer transitional housing or service centers for homeless veterans.  Under the grant component, VA may fund up to 65 percent of the project for the construction, acquisition, or renovation of facilities or to purchase vans to provide outreach and services to homeless veterans. Under the per diem component, funding is available to grantees to help off-set operational expenses. 

VA reports that in FY 2002, GPD grantees provided 11,013 “episodes of care” at an average 85 days length of stay per episode—and at an average cost of only $1,674 per episode.  VA allocated $70 million to GPD grantees in FY 2004.

GPD is authorized at the $75 million level through FY 2005.  Congress has granted the VA Secretary discretion at allocating the VHA appropriation among its numerous component programs.  In FY 2004, the Secretary was expected to allocate $69.4 million of the VHA appropriation to GPD.

The Homeless Veteran Service Provider Technical Assistance Program makes competitive grants to organizations with expertise in preparing grant applications to provide technical assistance to nonprofit community-based and faith-based groups with experience in providing assistance to homeless veterans in order to assist such groups in applying for homeless veterans grants and other grants addressing problems of homeless veterans.

HVSPTAP is authorized at the $750,000 million level through FY 2005.  Congress has granted the VA Secretary discretion at allocating the VHA appropriation among its numerous component programs.  In FY 2004, the Secretary was expected to allocate $750,000 of the VHA appropriation to HVSPTAP.

Committees of Jurisdiction

Senate—Appropriations, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Subcommittee.  Chair, Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-MO); Ranking Member, Barbara Mikulski (D-MD).  

House—Appropriations, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Subcommittee.  Chair, James Walsh (R-NY); Ranking Member, Alan Mollohan (D-WV).

back to top