Senate Advances Padilla, McCormick, Gallego, Britt Bipartisan Bill to Help House Disabled Veterans
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs advanced bipartisan legislation co-led by U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) to ensure that veterans experiencing homelessness and receiving disability payments maintain access to crucial housing support. The Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act (HUDVA) would permanently exclude disability payments received by veterans from annual income for housing assistance eligibility purposes under the Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program.
The HUD-VASH program plays a pivotal role in addressing homelessness among veterans by providing rental assistance from HUD along with supportive services from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Unfortunately, some of our country’s most severely disabled veterans receiving disability payments have been unable to access veterans housing programs like HUD-VASH. Historically, the more severe a disability was, the more disability benefits a veteran received, and the less likely it was that they could access veterans housing assistance. In Los Angeles, for example, veterans receiving the maximum service-connected disability payment had been ineligible for HUD-VASH because they were considered over-income.
Following advocacy from Senator Padilla and other members of Congress, last year, HUD finally changed its policies to exclude VA disability benefits from income for purposes of eligibility for the HUD-VASH program. Now that homeless veterans with disabilities can finally access this assistance, HUDVA would codify this important policy change to ensure that access continues permanently.
“Veterans who have sacrificed so much for our country’s freedom deserve a roof over their heads,” said Senator Padilla. “Outdated income definitions shouldn’t prevent veterans with severe disabilities from accessing the housing assistance they need to survive. I am glad to see the Senate advance our simple, bipartisan fix to permanently exclude disability benefits from the HUD-VASH income eligibility calculation and will keep fighting to ensure more of our veterans have a safe place to sleep at night.”
“As an Army veteran, I’ve seen firsthand how difficult the return to civilian life can be for so many servicemembers. Making this small correction would be a huge step toward helping our nation’s heroes obtain the support they have earned and finally tackle the epidemic of veteran homelessness,” said Senator McCormick. “I’m proud to see this bipartisan effort on behalf of those who have sacrificed so much for America take another step toward becoming law.”
“It is devastating when I see fellow veterans on the streets. Arizona is in the midst of a housing crisis, and it is too often our disabled veterans who are impacted most,” said Senator Gallego. “I’m proud to have helped this bipartisan, commonsense bill pass the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and I look forward to getting it across the finish line.”
“Our nation’s veterans who made tremendous sacrifices to serve our country and protect their fellow Americans deserve our utmost support to help access housing opportunities,” said Senator Britt. “This commonsense bill would simply exclude disability benefits from HUD’s annual income calculation, so disabled veterans are not unfairly disqualified from accessing these vital services. I’m thrilled to see this legislation advance, and I will continue working diligently to ensure our veterans and servicemembers are treated like the heroes that they are.”
The bill is cosponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii). Representatives Brad Sherman (D-Calif.-32) and Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas-15) are leading companion legislation in the House.
California has the most veterans in the nation, and 28 percent of all veterans experiencing homelessness in the United States last year resided in California.
The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee also advanced multiple other bills today that Senator Padilla is cosponsoring as part of a bipartisan housing package, including the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act, legislation to help communities recover from major disasters by permanently authorizing the Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) and establishing the Office of Disaster Management and Resiliency within HUD to administer the program. The Housing Supply Expansion Act of 2025, which advanced out of committee today as part of the package, would modernize the federal definition of “manufactured housing” to include modular or prefabricated homes built without a permanent chassis. By allowing off-chassis manufactured homes, the bill would expand consumer access to more efficient and cost-effective designs, providing greater architectural flexibility to better integrate into existing neighborhoods.
Senator Padilla has consistently fought to improve veterans’ access to housing. Last year, Padilla passed a bipartisan amendment into law to increase and streamline veterans’ access to HUD-VASH housing vouchers through the FY24 appropriations package. Earlier this year, Padilla and Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) urged VA Secretary Doug Collins to provide emergency housing and health care for veterans affected by the Los Angeles fires.
