Washington, DC – Today, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in coordination with the Department of Treasury and state and local programs, has decided to amend its definition of annual income to exclude VA service-connected disability payments received by a disabled veteran for eligibility purposes for housing built under the Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program.
Many disabled veterans on the West LA VA Campus – that need assistance the most – have been unable to access housing programs for veterans because of how income has been defined. The more severe a disability is, the more disability benefits a veteran receives, and the less likely it has been that they could qualify for veteran housing.
On January 11, 2024, while then HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge appeared before the House Financial Services Committee, Congressman Brad Sherman (CA-32) urged the Secretary to take this critical action to ensure that Veterans disability benefits will not close the door to the housing being created for them. Sherman pressed the Secretary at that time not to wait for the legislative fix included in Congressman Sherman’s bill the Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act (HUDVA), but that this change could be made at the regulatory level.
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