Heller bill sets aside funding for homeless women veterans

WASHINGTON - A bill submitted to Congress on Tuesday would set aside money each year to provide shelters and short-term housing to women who become homeless after serving in the military.

The legislation by Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to reserve at least 15 percent funding for women and their children in a homeless aid program. That would amount to about $22.5 million in the upcoming fiscal year.

It also gives the VA authority to reimburse homeless shelters for aid they give to the children of veterans who are homeless.

"As the demographics of our armed forces have changed throughout the years, so too have the needs of homeless veterans," Heller said in a statement. "Many homeless shelters were not designed to serve the needs of female veterans or homeless veterans with children."

Heller's bill comes as both he and Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., are competing for the votes of veterans in this year's race for U.S. Senate. Berkley has run two commercials in the campaign advertising her work on veterans issues in the U.S. House.