
News Link • Veterans and Veterans Affairs
A Warrior's Homecoming: Trump's Push to End Veteran Homelessness
• https://realclearwire.com, By Stacy WashingtonWhile the Biden administration committed tens of billions of taxpayer dollars to defend Ukraine and illegal immigrants, it simultaneously neglected America's borders and the very people who defended them — its veterans.
Last summer, Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) revealed that VA personnel were diverted to process medical claims for individuals in ICE custody — non-citizens whose very presence violates U.S. law. Veterans who had earned those services were left to wait.
Even more brazenly, the Biden administration implemented a rule to allow illegal immigrants to live in public housing indefinitely. This despite the fact that over 33,000 veterans remain homeless and the wait list for public housing remains extremely long. It's no wonder America's military's military heroes felt betrayed.
President Trump ran on a promise to restore rational governance and reorder our national priorities. He called it a "revolution of common sense," and voters gave him a clear mandate to carry it out.
A major step in that revolution came on May 9, when Trump signed an executive order establishing a "National Center for Warrior Independence," a facility that will house up to 6,000 homeless veterans who have been ignored for too long.
Crucially, the order redirects funds that the Biden administration had used to house illegal immigrants and instead puts them where they belong — in service of those who defended our country.
The Trump administration is right. VA resources and taxpayer support should serve the Americans who risked their lives for this nation, not individuals who violated its laws to enter. The fact that this principle even needs to be spelled out speaks to how far Biden-era priorities went off track.
Providing homeless veterans shelter is critical, but the deeper challenge is preventing their homelessness in the first place.
Numerous studies have found that high housing costs drive higher rates of homelessness.
Instead of addressing this situation, the Biden administration exacerbated it. Reckless federal spending pushed inflation to record highs, forcing half of all renters to spend more than a third of their income just to keep a roof over their heads. Millions of families spent more than half. For many veterans who were already struggling, it was impossible to keep up.
Instead of taking responsibility for the inflation and policy failure that destabilized veterans' housing situations, Biden looked for scapegoats, and his allies in Congress continue to do so.
For example, In February, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ruben Gallego demanded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth initiate a federal investigation into rent pricing software firms, accusing them of inflating rents for military families (Biden made similar comments when in office). Meanwhile, much like Kelley Blue Book, all this technology does is report on the current marketplace conditions. This is a classic Washington move — blame the private sector to cover for a government failure.