Yesterday, amid the flurry of activity by the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s hyperactive DOGE efforts, some positive news for our honorable veterans: the House of Representatives passed Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) and Congresswoman De La Cruz’s (R-TX) Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act (HUDVA) that’s designed to assist homeless disabled veterans bypass a longstanding bureaucratic barrier that has prevented them from accessing the very Veterans Affairs (VA) housing built for them.

“I am honored that the House has voted to pass this important bill to remove an unfair barrier preventing disabled homeless veterans from accessing veteran housing. I urge the Senate to take up this common-sense and bipartisan bill without delay to exclude a veteran’s disability benefits from a veteran’s income calculation,” said Congressman Sherman in a statement released by his office and in a post on X.

Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz said: “Far too often, our veterans are met with unnecessary bureaucracy when they return home from service.

Though we can never repay them for their sacrifice, we can show our gratitude by ensuring bureaucratic obstacles do not block their access to housing support. This legislation will make certain that disability payments received by a veteran are excluded from income calculations when it comes to determining eligibility for HUD-VASH. I am proud to co-lead this critical bipartisan legislation alongside Congressman Sherman to support veterans who have gone above and beyond to serve our country.”

Per Sherman’s statement, 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 VA. However, due to “restrictive Area Median Income (AMI) caps and inclusion of disability benefits in a veteran’s annual income calculation”, many homeless disabled veterans were unjustly disqualified from accessing this vital support.

Hoping to address the root of the problem, Sherman and De La Cruz’s Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act (HUDVA) will amend this existing law that defines income eligibility for veterans housing programs like HUD-VASH.