This forum is airing live. It is a historic moment. I want to thank both republicans and democrats alike for making this possible. The majority and minority working in a bipartisan way. It is the first live entirely virtual bipartisan forum for the United States congress. The first one ever. Modulation,s, everybody making this possible. So covid19 has changed everything. Every american is affected. And americas veterans are not immune. In fact, veterans are facing unique challenges right now due to the Global Pandemic. But the challenges created by covid19 will not go away overnight. In the wake of this pandemic, new challenges will emerge and their impact could become just as severe as the novel coronavirus. There is no shortage of frightening statistics that point to how tough times are for countless americans right now. Very, veryver the grim statistics. More than 55,000 americans are dead from covid19. Nearly 7000 veterans have tested positive. Of which 435 veterans have passed away. Certain mitigation measures have resulted in 26 million new jobless claims in a month, including an additional 4. 4 million just last week. The numbers will impact veteranss lives for years. And that is why our work here today is so important. To those watching at home, i want to thank you for being a part of todays forum. And i hope this video forum finds you and your loved ones well. I also want to remind many of our viewers, if you are a veteran who is experiencing hardship due to covid19, please contact your local v. A. Veterans,eating all regardless of their participation and medical care regardless of their participation in v. A. Medical care or discharge status. So i encourage you to call and get the help you need. You can call from anywhere in the United States. Call 18446982311. That is 18446982311. To arrange for medical services. Today, we will be addressing several issues related to veteran homelessness. First, the covid19 crisis has affected tens of thousands of veterans who were already homeless before stayathome orders were issued. Some services that serve Homeless Veterans, such as in placeshave closed due to positive tests or lack of workers to support the population. Second, covid19 has brought our economy to a halt. Million last month, 26 americans have lost their jobs and are struggling to pay their bills. They are wondering how they will pay their rent or mortgages. Congress has placed a moratorium on foreclosures over the next three months, but it is a temporary solution. Foreclosure or eviction could be a problem for countless veterans if more Permanent Solutions are not put in place. This crisis could force more veterans into homelessness, and we must act to minimize that impact. Learning what resources we can use to prevent homelessness in the first place is paramount. One of the Lessons Learned during the 2009 recession was the value of aggressive action to prevent homelessness in the first place. This is something we should all heed in our work. It is 10 times cheaper to provide resources to prevent homelessness in the first place than it is to house someone once they have become homeless. In response to the 2009 recession, congress acted in the first month of president Obamas Administration to pass the american recovery and reinvestment act, otherwise known as arr, which created the hud Housing Program otherwise known as hprp. This programs and resources directly to local governments to help renters. This program among other actions resulted in an unchanged homelessness rate from 2008 to 2012. Past caresy act, which provided 2 trillion dollars in assistance in the wake of covid19, also provided 20 billion in support of the v8 to help our nations heroes. V. A. Was given Broad Authority to use this funding. Allocated 300 million to the Homelessness Program office. I remain unconvinced that this is anywhere near enough. And i hope our work here today moves us closer to what is really needed. Finally, we must dedicate resources in the recovery phase to reintegrate veterans into their communities. This congress has now passed four covid19 assistance packages, but we have failed to provide our local governments and hospitals the resources they need to deliver our muchneeded Homeless Veterans. For example, the cares act included 4 billion for the Emergency Solutions grant, which can be used by states and local governments for rapid we Housing Programs. Of this is only one third the need estimated by the National Coalition to end homelessness. This is on top of the massive shortfalls states are facing due to covid19 response. The answer is not as leader mcconnell has said for states to file for bankruptcy. This is for congress to set up. States are facing budget shortfalls in the billions. My own state of california will likely see a shortfall this year exceed 25 billion. Theresident trump thinks federal government is a backup for states, then it is time to back them up. Monetsorward to ms. Thoughts on how we can most effectively support states, but time is running out and we must act. I hope this becomes a real priority the next time we returned to washington to provide additional assistance. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses what resources are needed. Again, i appreciate everyones participation in todays historic forum. And i look forward to todays conversation. Memberecognize ranking ron for his opening remarks. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you for hosting this forum today. Good to see our colleagues in good health. I know we look forward to getting back to washington and working together. Before i begin my remarks today, mr. Chairman, i would like to take a moment to acknowledge the toll that the covid19 pandemic has had on veterans and allamericans who quite frankly are over the world. 180 countries have been affected by this pandemic. The latest numbers provided by the v. A. As of yesterday, they veterans and0 tragically 452 of them have died since the crisis began. In addition, 2153 v. A. Staff members also tested positive for covid19. 20 of them have passed on. I want to express my deepest condolences to the families of the veterans and the v. A. Staff who we have lost. We pray to god for the healing grace for them and their families. I want to express my sincere appreciation to the dedicated v. A. Employees all across the nation that continue to step up and care for veterans and support state and local response efforts as well from housekeeping staff to the Health Care Staff and all the way to the secretary. I know all of our v. A. Employees continue to put Veterans First and do everything they can to stop the deadly spread of this virus. Mr. Chairman, we know the covid19 crisis has placed an enormous strain on everyone. And those strains are evident today with how congress conducts oversight during the pandemic. The Gold Standard for oversight or in person hearings with witness panels, and i appreciate the unique challenges presented by the covid virus and that todays forum is an effort to respond to that challenge. But make no mistake, todays forum is not an equal substitute for an in person hearing. Leadersnow, our party talked and developed ways to return to congress during the pandemic. Latereciate your staffers last week with our request. They were unable to send a representative on such short notice. I request that if this Committee Moves forward with digital forms, that we collaborate to identify topics and witnesses. Turning to the issue we are discussing today, covid19s impact on Homeless Veterans, as it continues in many parts of the country, it is right for us to ask, how do you stay home if you do not have a home . What happens to Homeless Veterans who are not able to safely access shelters and other sources of housing and other assistance . How has the three hooded Million Dollars that congress has authorized in the cares act to support those veterans been allocated . What additional action is needed to help those still struggling . These are the types of questions i hope we can answer today. I want to thank Catherine Monet from the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans for being here to provide the coalitions perspective. Mr. Chairman, i stand to work on additional possible legislative fixes for the program and i look forward to considering them as soon as possible. We know the best way to help Homeless Veterans is to work byether, beat this pandemic continuing to flatten the curve and reopen our country and get to work in our economy as safely as we can. Mr. Chairman, this is a very diverse country. Is verypens in new york different than what happens in rural east tennessee where i am and what happens in our state. So i think we have to take all those things in consideration as we go to congress. I look forward to the session. I yield back. Thank you, dr. Roe. I would like to introduce Catherine Monet, chief executive officer of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. Monet has served previously on the staff of Veterans Affairs and with the alliance to help and veteran homelessness. You are recognized for five minutes to give your remarks. Members of the house committee, thank you for the opportunity to join you today. Homelessness as you know makes individuals and veterans more vulnerable to conditions like covid19. In d. C. , we have been experiencing homelessness make up 4 of deaths but they comprise only 1 of the citys publishing. According to v. A. And cdc data, veterans right now are currently at 12. 9 percent more likely than civilians to pass away because of the virus so Homeless Veterans are truly vulnerable. Reports that 30 individuals, the majority of whom were veterans, tested positive at a facility during the week of april 13 spike many being amedic. Symptomatic. More clarity is needed to understand the true scope of the virus on the veteran population. Better data will help v. A. Identify and address social disparities or any challenges that may exist in the identification and treatment of covid. The pandemic has undoubtedly impacted veterans in a variety of ways by making it harder to find housing. Creating new Mental Health challenges for veterans feeling isolated in housing. There are already organizations committed to dividing Vital Services on a daytoday basis, but even they face pandemic challenges from ppe and disinfectant shortages, identifying innovative ways to safely deliver services, and construction stoppages. The 300 million that the v. A. Has allocated to homeless programs. V. A. Has announced an additional 200 million of that funding will move to grant use, and these are wellestablished programs that serve veterans. The Additional Resources provide some flexibility. Virus can overwhelm the va hospital capacity. Veterans can selfisolate when at risk. A fix is needed. Social distancing requirements for safe operations require admissions in the current facilities by up to 75 in some of the most compressed facilities. The cares act did not offer direction to the v. A. On whether there out to be a maximum, so we urge you to direct the v. A. To temporarily increase per diem rates to a maximum of three times the rate. Struggling with expenses such as disinfectants, masks, gowns, sanitizer, and other related supplies that they need to operate their facilities safely. These factors coupled with reduced charitable donations have truly created financial strain for these organizations on the front lines of this fight. Given the infection rate documented in facilities across the country, any further delay is putting Homeless Service providers in the impossible position of making life or death decisions since the money has not yet been released to grantees. We need more testing for unsheltered veterans and those in transitional housing, especially if it is a conga get environment. The cdc has noted that currently testing is critical to reduce the rapid spread of the virus given the number of patient to metacarriers we have seen during widespread testing. Prioritized if they are at high risk, especially those in the most congregate housing we have. Vitamins need exit plans that lead to permanent housing. Many have moved to remote operations because of the pandemic. We need to do everything we can to get the program moving across the country. This committee has led on that but we need to double down and do more to ensure we are putting people in permanent housing and motels and hotels. Last but not least, the road to recovery will be long. Avoiding a major increase in homelessness during 2021 will serve veterans. Of 1. 34 billion, including funding for hud. Wemployment benefits, anticipate a wave of vitamins foreclosure, but there are many changes that can be done to blunt the impact of this pandemic. Thank you for your interest as we work collectively to lessen the impact that covid19 will have on veterans experiencing homelessness. Rep. Takano thank you for your opening comments. I now recognize myself for five minutes of questioning. Ms. Monet, i have heard medical facilities are turning away individuals test positive and are asymptomatic, preferring to treat those that have lifethreatening complications from the coronavirus. This creates an unexpected complication for Homeless Veterans who test positive and live in conga get transitional housing. Do you have a good accounting of how many veterans in transitional housing have coronavirus . Ms. Monet that is a great question, sir, and i wish we had a better accounting. I have some anecdotal numbers from members that run in the 30s right now, but i dont have any sense of how many of the inple who are veterans and transitional housing have tested positive. Rep. Takano thank you. Do you believe the v. A. Is aware of many veterans who have the virus . I think the v. A. Is aware of the risk factors, but i am not sure sufficient testing is available such that they can do widespread testing in transitional housing facilities the way they probably should be. Rep. Takano can you briefly speak to the importance of testing at transitional facilities and housing facilities . Ms. Monet absolutely. One of the things the cdc found was in shelters where they found a single positive, the transmission rate was lower when they conducted widespread testing and isolated all of the asymptomatic covid positive veterans. So they were not spreading the virus to other people who might be at risk. Once you have one, you start to see the cluster effect pop up. In some shelters, particularly in boston and other places, they have seen a positive rate in the range of 60 , largely all asymptomatic carriers in shelters. Given the way the shelter environment is compressed, there is not a lot of space to isolate. Testing is critical. Has v. A. No how coordinated with states to ensure homeless facilities do not become transmission points for the covid virus . So what i have heard from members is that coordination is different from Medical Center to Medical Center. So i heard that there is coordination in certain states. I also heard that in some states the health care for the homeless facility might be a stronger partner than v. A. Or department of health. It really depends on whos got the resources in the community. Rep. Takano for instance, in california we have a project turnkey that governor newsom, who has worked with hotels and forls to provide housing the homeless, provide housing for frontline medical workers, and in many cases, people who need to isolate. But the county where i live in riverside, california, riverside county, has done the same. It seems to me that the congregate housing with Homeless People, Homeless Veterans testing positive, we need to get them into housing which allows them to isolate. Not only social distance, but isolate. Ms. Monet i would agree. That is the goal. Keeping people safe and making sure we have the resources to do that. I can tell you that there is a program that they have been using some of the funds from the cares act to really ramp up isolation, particularly for veterans who are clinically at risk. The release is th of more gdp funding will help with in that population but there is a lot of room for improvement. Rep. Takano a variety of programs addressing veteran homelessness during covid19. Can you describe Hotel Resources have impacted shortterm Housing Programs such as the grant perdiem compared to longterm Housing Programs . Ms. Monet yes. Teleresources have been important. There are social providers who have done things for the remote population to keep as many as them as safe as possible. We have seen a lot more use of teletechnology. Rapid rehousing and landlord engagement and a list of other things. Rep. Takano i just want to know, has not made an impact on Homeless Veterans being able to access the services . Ms. Monet in some regards, yes. Some older veterans have struggled with the technology. Others have thrived. It is on a casebycase basis, but yes, there is an impact. Rep. Takano my time has run out. Let me move to recognize dr. Roe for five minutes. Rep. Roe thank you, mr. Chairman. Just a quick correction. I dont know that we know that veterans have a 12. 5 greater mortality rate. We have no what the denominator is permit we have not done you enough testing to find out what the prevalence is in the community. Il we know that, we need we d