Veterans and the Unhoused
Over ten percent of the unhoused population in the 23rd Congressional District are veterans. I have seen them, mostly older men, sleeping along the Kern River in make-shift tents and sitting around the streets of Bakersfield. They endure the scorching heat of the summer and the freezing temperatures of our Central Valley winters, without roofs over their heads.
California and the nation have similar numbers. Veterans are fifty percent more likely to be houseless than non-veterans, nationwide. People who so valiantly served our country should not be in this situation. They deserve ‘real’ support, not just superficial gestures.
Since only twelve percent of veterans are diagnosed with PTSD and treated, we are creating this unhoused population. Currently, the resources needed are either non-existent or buried in bureaucracy, making it nearly impossible for those that have served our country to get the help they need.
As a veteran myself, this disgusts me. I have looked into the Federal laws enacted to help Veterans transition to civilian life. They have not been significantly updated for almost fifty years. McCarthy, who loves to hand out medals and make appearances at Wounded Warriors’ fundraisers, had his own splashy Bakersfield Californian headline, “McCarthy's veterans bills become law.” Unfortunately, these Bills were written by Congressman Levin, a Democrat from California’s 49th Congressional District. McCarthy isn’t even listed as a cosponsor. He lied to his constituents.
That same year he did introduce H.R.8275, which would have enhanced grants and payments to vendors that provide services for Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. The Bill died immediately but Kevin got another nice press bump, even though the bill was never voted on and provided support for vendors that supply a military facility that is 2500 miles from his district. I’m sure he was pandering to his Republican colleagues in North Carolina. That is how he buys support to stay in power.
This superficial pandering to our veterans is not acceptable. I vow to actually help veterans who are unhoused, transitioning to civilian life, and those who need extended mental health support. We can only do this by providing the services and care veterans and their families need. We need regional veterans’ hospitals, equipped to address ALL needs of our veterans and their families with twenty-first-century research addressing medical and mental health issues, near where they live. In Congress, I will advocate for a veteran’s hospital here in the 23rd that they can access without having to drive for hours.
This is not that hard to do. Of the 700 billion dollars U.S. military budget for 2021, 73% goes to contractors. According to Opensecrets.org, “...the months leading up to the U.S. ending its 20-year war in Afghanistan and the Taliban gaining control of the country, major defense companies were awarded contracts in Afghanistan worth hundreds of millions of dollars and spent tens of millions lobbying the federal government on defense issues”.
A state-of-the-art VA hospital costs less than one-half of a percent of what McCarthy and his fellow congressional members are shelling out to for-profit military contractors. We need a change of attitude on Capitol Hill. One of my first priorities is to disrupt the status quo and work to balance our institutional inequities. Military contractors shouldn’t be making obscene profits while veterans sleep under a bridge.
Watching the evacuation of Afghanistan and the end of America’s longest war, I wondered if those that served so bravely will be supported as well as the military contractors were the last few months of the war. A fraction of that money could end houselessness for our veterans in short order. Our veterans deserve better. Please visit my website, brunoforcongress.com, and check out my plans for the 23rd Congressional District and the nation.
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