Expanding the Mission: The Future of the National Center for Warrior Independence in West LA
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House Veterans' Affairs U.S. House of Representatives
Follow its sittingsSpeaker 2
Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. We are at an, let me just say, at the outset, mister chairman. I wasn't anticipating your statement about the inappropriateness of nondisclosure agreements. But, I welcome those comments and I'm heartened that you have made that statement. And, also, your statement about the over the plan, that was due 248 days ago.
It is something that we have requested from the White House for many months. And veterans have been left in the dark, frankly. And the NDAs have been severe, have created lots of unnecessary suspicion and distrust. And so I appreciate, I think this is getting off to a good bipartisan start, is what I'm trying to tell you. If we, so my point is if we do not act at this inflection point, regarding the future of the national, veterans national soldiers' home in West LA, I fear that we will doom this property to become a vast West Side Skid Row.
And if you've ever been to Skid Row in Downtown LA to see the idea that this would become a vast, even a vaster West Side Skid Row is a horrifying vision. Now I know these are strong words, but I mean them. There is no other place in the country besides Skid Row where there are so many formerly homeless people live. These veterans bear the trauma of both having been homeless and the visible and invisible wounds of service. This concentration of veterans without adequate supportive services has jeopardized tenant safety, sobriety, and mental health.
We have created a pressure cooker. We must address the root causes of the problems at West LA, or we will fail the thousands of veterans who should be able to call the national soldiers' home their home. A home should be more than just a place to sleep. It should be a community, a place where veterans feel safe with services and amenities, and where veterans can stay with their children and not worry about crimes taking place next door, gangs coming on the property, or a neighbor dying from an overdose unattended. A community means that different groups of veterans can live together, work together, coexist.
That is what the vision for the soldier's home was meant to be. But it is not. It is failing. The veterans who are meant to call this campus home are being harmed by the same failed policies that are harming everyone in this country. A housing crisis, rising fuel costs, a skyrocketing cost of living, cuts to health care.
The affordability crisis is getting worse and worse under this administration, and homeless veterans are experiencing it firsthand. Now there are many entities who are involved in what the soldier's home has become and what it could be. It is inexplicable that the majority did not hid my request to include HUD, the two LA area public housing authorities, Brightburn Energy, or Brentwood School in today's hearing. I asked the majority to include a veteran advocate on the panel, but I was rebuffed. I will do my best to include these veteran voices by sharing some of their stories, by trying to get their questions for VA answered.
But it is indiscriminate that my colleagues would refuse to bring these voices to the table. I'm gonna share stories from six veterans who should have been invited here today. Now I'll start with George, a 20-year retired disabled Air Force veteran who uses a wheelchair. For over three years, George lived in a 6 by 6 tiny shed on the West LA campus with his dog. After a series of failed housing placements, none of which were George's fault, he moved into an apartment at the soldiers' home two weeks ago.
It took veteran advocate Rob Reynolds, my staff, and Jim Zenner from LA County getting involved to finally get George into housing. It should not have been this hard. Two weeks ago, my staff met with Vince and his two year old named also named Vince. He shared that Vince shared that they were moving out of campus housing because their building was overrun with pests. He found roaches in little Vince's crib.
Roaches in his child's crib, unfathomable. Fire alarms go off all hours of the night, disturbing both their sleep, the sleep of pets who also live in the building, and often triggering PTSD symptoms for other veterans. Another veteran named John shared that there are 50 known drug dealers on campus, and that drug use is rampant. He said that there were three veteran deaths due to overdoses in a single building in March and April alone, but that the medical examiner codes overdoses as deaths by natural causes, skewing the data. He shared repeated instances of veterans passing away in a housing unit on campus and VA police failing to secure the unit, leading to thefts of the deceased veterans' belongings.
He also told us about dogs who live with veterans having to be saved with Narcan after a drug exposure. And Narcan isn't even readily available in every building on the campus. Another veteran, Ryan, told us about how building and campus security is failing, but VA police is hamstrung by staffing challenges and jurisdictional and policy restraints from doing anything in this situation. There are frequent apartment break-ins, and people are climbing through windows to buy drugs. There is known prostitution and sex trafficking throughout the property.
Charlie lives in one of the newest buildings on campus, but is already having issues. He won't bring his two sons to visit, and wishes the property were more family friendly. Each of these veterans talked about the need for more supportive services for the campus residents. In August, our group of veterans living in Building 205 invited my staff in, so they could witness the atrocious conditions. The building was infested with pests and mold.
My staff immediately emailed the VA central office asking for a meeting with VA, the public housing authority, and the property management company, John Stuart company. That meeting still has not happened nine months later, and it was clear to my staff during their visit in April that the conditions in the building have only worsened. When my staff asked facility leadership about this long-standing request regarding Building 205 during a visit two weeks ago, the medical center director and deputy were not even aware of it because VA central office, that is the office of congressional and legislative affairs, never sent it to them. Urgent casework requests. My staff on behalf of veterans in crisis who live in West, at West LA, have also gone answered.
Now when VA ignores my staff, they're ignoring the veterans. This is utterly unacceptable, and frankly, it's dangerous. Veterans' lives are at real risk. Now I'll mention one final veteran, Jeffrey Powers, the lead plaintiff in Powers v McDonough lawsuit. Jeffrey has repeatedly asked why VA continues to drag on its appeal, and when will VA finally do the right thing and implement Judge Carter's order.
I share Jeffrey's frustration. I hope today that VA is ready to share with the public a real plan for West LA. The implications of both the Powers case and the president's executive order establishing a center for warrior independence at West LA would bring thousands more veterans to the campus. Is VA ready for this? I fear they are not.
I've repeatedly called on VA to make its strategy for West LA public, and to give veterans, Congress, and the community an opportunity to weigh in. All the work that has been done to this point has been done behind closed doors, without veteran or congressional input. Individuals working on the West LA project were required to sign nondisclosure agreements, as was mentioned earlier by the chairman, with the purpose of keeping information from the public. These unprecedented, and I repeat, unprecedented nondisclosure agreements have prevented congress and the public from getting information that it is entitled to and that VA is accountable for. But sadly, as VA's testimony today makes it clear, there is no plan to rectify the numerous issues I and my staff have raised for years, nor address the new housing required by President Trump's new executive order.
Now I'm not ideologically opposed to Trump's intent with his executive order. I don't know if the world just kind of shattered here. I am not ideologically opposed, mister Van Orden, to Trump's intent with this executive order. But to be able to serve 6,000 veterans, many of whom have complex needs, requires a comprehensive strategy. I do not see, frankly, the financial commitments being made nor adequate plans for VA to meet the needs of these veterans.
And I do not believe this VA has the expertise to develop, implement, and oversee a plan of this size and scope. With the decades that the soldier's home wasted away under mismanagement and corruption, VA should know better than to operate in secret when it comes to making plans for the land. Veterans deserve better. And veterans living at West LA need more than thousands of tiny homes. There are veterans who live at the soldier's home who have jobs and who are doing well, but there is a significant population who may need more help.
I fear without an intentional and significant investment of additional supportive services and a comprehensive strategy, we are setting up current and future veteran tenants for failure, and we'll simply be warehousing veterans at the Soldiers' Home. And when a veteran is ready to say yes to treatment, VA must be prepared to provide that treatment on demand. Now I call on my colleagues to join me in demanding VA invest in expanding clinical practices we know work, like mental health intensive case management, assertive community treatment, substance use case management, and critical time intervention. VA must get serious about the reality of its staffing situation to build out integrated teams, so they can provide the care veterans need. That means more social workers, more nurses, more physicians, and more VA police.
For those veterans who want to live in a sober environment, there should be options available at the soldiers' home. The best way to get people sober is through permanent housing and support, not through forced institutionalization. Being a homeless veteran should not be a crime, and having an addiction related to your service should not be an excuse to lock a veteran behind closed bars. Now we have an opportunity to set the standard for ending veterans' home veteran homelessness by building a community for veterans at the National Soldier's Home. To date, VA has shown a lack of transparency and accountability.
That needs to end the day. Otherwise, the Trump VA's action and inaction threaten to doom this property to failure and the veterans who reside there to continued harm. With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Speaker 1
Thank you ranking member for his opening statement. We will now turn to our witnesses for their testimony. Testifying before us today, we have doctor, Mr. John Bartram. He is the undersecretary of health at the VA. Accompanied by him is doctor Thomas O'Toole, acting deputy undersecretary for health clinical services at VA.
Mister Bret Sims, executive director at the office of assistant management at VA, and Miss Danielle Runyon, senior counsel for the secretary at VA. Will all the witnesses please stand and raise their right hand? Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you're about to provide is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Thank you. Let the record reflect that the witnesses answered in the affirmative.
I now recognize Miss Runyon for five minutes to deliver the testimony on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Speaker 3
Thank you, chairman. Chairman Bost, ranking member Tucano, and distinguished members of the committee, thank you for inviting us to discuss the work VA is doing to implement President Donald J. Trump's executive order, keeping promises to veterans and establishing a national center for warrior independence. For generations, VA's West Los Angeles campus has held the unrealized potential to be a beacon of hope and stability for thousands of veterans. Under the leadership of President Trump and VA Secretary Douglas A. Collins, this potential is finally on the way to being achieved. And it is about time, as the mismanagement of this campus dates back more than 130.
In 1888, Arcadia Bandini Disterns Baker and Senator John P. Jones gifted hundreds of acres of land to the government for the purpose of providing a home and community for disabled veterans. It was meant to be a place where civil war veterans could live out the rest of their days in peace. But this goal was never fully realized. Some housing was built, but over the years, large portions of the campus were deeded away, and other parcels were used in ways that did not benefit veterans. VA inspector general reports in 2018 and 2021 concluded the property was being mismanaged.
The IG determined that various agreements that allowed outside parties to use parts of the campus did not comply with the West LA leasing act, other applicable federal laws, or the draft master plan. In May 2025, President Trump issued his executive order to turn this property around. He called on VA to vastly expand the capacity of this campus to house thousands of veterans at the new National Center for Warrior Independence by 01/01/28. Here's what we've done to get there. In February 2026, VA terminated illegal and wasteful West LA leases and a license under which the campus allowed the Brentwood School, Safety Park Corporation, and Bridgeland Resources to use the land in ways that serve no meaningful benefit to veterans.
Bridgeland, for example, is operating oil wells on the land. It is bad enough that this campus was being leased out in ways that provided no benefits to the veterans. But even worse, these agreements underpaid VA for the fair value of these properties by more than $40 million per year. To sum it up, these leases were ripping off veterans and ripping off US taxpayers. The ongoing litigation in this area limits our ability to discuss these matters further, but we continue to do everything we can to reclaim the land at our West LA campus so we can fulfill the requirements of President Trump's order.
In the meantime, VA has taken important steps to establish the National Center for Warrior Independence and build the infrastructure we need to host thousands of veterans at this site. When we arrived in January 2025, the campus had the capacity to house 955 veterans. In January 2026, our capacity to provide housing to formerly homeless veterans expanded to 1,377. By 2026, we expect to have capacity to house 1,670 formerly homeless veterans, thanks mostly to our plan to build temporary housing this year for another 220 veterans. By 2027, we expect to have beds for 2,048 homeless veterans.
Meanwhile, VA is putting in place the infrastructure we need to handle an increased veteran population. For example, VA is enhancing safety measures on campus to give veterans the secure space they need to successfully achieve independence. We are also increasing the level of service we give to veterans who already are living on campus. Among other things, VA has made homeless patient aligned care team services available to all veterans for clinical care. We've provided case management support to help veterans as they seek housing vouchers from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
We've also terminated the lease of the Wadsworth Chapel on the West LA campus to ensure it can serve veterans of faith. These efforts and others have helped ensure that 98 percent of veterans on this campus remained housed and do not return to the streets. Our goal is to give veterans a fair chance to succeed in the country they sacrifice so much to defend. In West LA, we are building a campus that unifies housing, clinical care, mental health care, and benefits for some of the nation's most vulnerable veterans. When we succeed, the campus will serve as a destination for thousands of homeless veterans across the nation and a place where they can get the care they need, obtain sustainable employment, and achieve financial independence.
Thank you for supporting this important project, and we look forward to your questions.
Speaker 1
Thank you for your testimony. And now what, wanna go to questions, and I'll introduce myself for five minutes. Mister Bertram and Miss Runyon, do you believe you are above congressional oversight and accountability? And I just need a yes or no.
Speaker 1
Mister Bertermann, missus, Runyon, the committee has requested all nondisclosure agreement copies and who signed these agreements under oath. Do you commit to working with the committee to provide all nondisclosure agreement copies to ensure proper oversight and avoid future hearings with you both as witnesses.
Speaker 1
Sure. Good to know. Mister Bertram, for years, this committee watched prior VA leadership avoid making difficult decisions at West Los Angeles because of the political sensitivity, litigation concerns, competing outside interests tied to the campus. Why did Secretary Collins decide to undertake this effort when previous VA leadership largely stood away from fully assessing asserting VA control and direction over the West LA?
Speaker 5
Sir, I think the president decided to take this on for his commitment to veterans, and that we know that we're here to fix things, and that this campus, as was pointed out by the ranking member and by yourself, has not been living up to the needs. And so we are taking this opportunity to address those needs and to make sure that it lives up to the fulfillment of the promise.
Speaker 1
And, Miss Bertrand, President Trump's executive order required an action plan to establish the National Center for Warrior Independence to be submitted to the president by 09/06/2025. This report was received last night 248 days late. Why has the submission of this action been delayed, and when should we expect to be briefed on this plan?
Speaker 5
Sir, we'd be happy to set up an appointment with you to brief you and your staff.
Speaker 5
And, I'll ask Miss Runyon on any of the logistics on the release of the plan, but it's a plan that's submitted to the White House, and so we had to go through the White House process.
Speaker 3
I can't comment on who is personally responsible, chairman, but we are absolutely committed to providing you with updates.
Speaker 1
The only concern I have is that we got it last night, but it's dated 09/05/2024. I had a lot of problem, but I'd see that as a problem.
Speaker 3
I understand, chairman. And what I will say also, we have been embattled in litigation, in litigation that we inherited when this administration took over. So, going forward, and we also made this commitment at the eight corners briefing, we are happy to provide monthly updates to the committee.
Speaker 1
Would both of you agree that, and let me tell you that it's been through both Republican and Democrat administrations, through a tremendous amount of secretaries, that as we've watched West LA deal with the issues it has? Because I can't, I don't even remember whenever I came out and toured West LA. I don't think I was ranking member or chair, just taken over as chairman. I was ranking member, and we could see the problems that were developing then. We may there were promises made to cure it. Do you I know how we feel, but I'd so the concerns that I have is that the outside influences that were being pressured on the VA and the local politics of that, not necessarily for the veteran, but what for who had the lease agreements has what held us up from actually aggressively going after this to get it ready for the veterans that needed to be taken care of.
Speaker 3
Yes, chairman. So we would absolutely agree. We have had to clean up a tremendous amount of challenges and issues, that some of them we listed out in our testimony and others that I think you all had already noted in your opening statements. Now that we have the lease agreements that are terminated, some of these topics I can't necessarily get into because of the ongoing litigation. However, we are committed to ensuring that with all of those actions that we're taking, now we can finally move into the operationalizing phase of this to ensure that we achieve the president's objectives, which we are committed to achieving by January 2028.
Speaker 5
And, sir, if I could add, there's a lot of steps that you talked about and ranking member Takano, you mentioned about security. We've already we're on a path now to we've authorized and we're working to hire up to 160 VA police officers. We have increased it from last year in the 50 to 60 range to over 80 as of right now. We just awarded a security contract to have additional security, some contract security on. We just awarded a multimillion dollar lighting contract to put lighting up around the campus to secure it.
So we are taking steps and actions to secure the campus because we know that we need a secure campus. As ranking member Ticado said, you know, we need to be ready and support, and we're building out supporting facilities, supporting housing, and supporting infrastructure for a community, not just a housing complex.
Speaker 1
My time has expired, but would you follow-up with me on who personally was responsible for delaying this report?
Speaker 2
Thank you. Mister Bartram, I do agree with you that the president has moved forward an executive order, but he's also complying with judge Carter's decision. Is that not right? Isn't Judge Carter's decision also driving this? Not just the president's executive order?
Speaker 2
Thank you. And then why are you choosing to continue to appeal Judge Carter's order, largely mandates most of Trump's EO?
Speaker 3
Because that's in litigation. Unfortunately, I cannot answer that question for you.
Speaker 3
So that lease has an automatic option exercise that only UCLA has to put us on notice that they want to extend for another 10 years. This is one of the issues that we have, we've come across, and that we've inherited, are these leases that give these third parties, wildly inordinate, unilateral rights.
Speaker 2
Unilateral option that UCLA has. So, Miss Johan, has VA issued formal notice to Brentwood School and Brightburn Energy to vacate the West LA VA property?
Speaker 2
Well, when did you those notices to vacate. What were notices to vacate issued?
Speaker 2
Okay. So, when those notices were issued, what excuse me. I'm not that one. The VA did not request any funding in its FY '27 budget to support the removal of the physical infrastructure of the current leaseholders, Brentwood School and Brightburn Energy, from campus. Do you plan to request supplemental funding to support the eviction efforts?
Speaker 3
I can't comment on that, and I can, I'd be happy to take that for the record at a time when we have made some decisions on that front. But what our funding does request for 2027 is to support the infrastructure and resources that we need, precisely what you had mentioned in your opening statement. Okay. Regarding to support the 6,000 veterans that we
Speaker 2
Thank you for the response. Mister Bartram, how many case manager contracts has VA canceled for West LA VA?
Speaker 2
Okay. Mister Bartram, I'm sorry to cut you off this with doctor Atul. I know of at least three contracts that have been canceled that provided case management to over 240 veterans. Please provide me a list with contract numbers, the number of veterans served under those contracts, and the dates of cancellation by the end of the day. Do you know how many case managers VA has in West LA and what their caseloads are, Mr. Bartram?
Speaker 6
Thank you. There are currently 270 case managers working on campus, taking care of veterans, homeless veterans. Of those, 135 are VA employees and about another 135 are contract. We also have an additional 145 support staff for those case managers, including housing navigators.
Speaker 2
peers. Clear, VA, the VA's internal case management is at 135. The rest are contractors?
Speaker 2
And you just heard me talk about the three contracts that have been canceled, then I want the numbers for those. 335. What is the turnover rate for these CAT case managers?
Speaker 2
You should know that the case manager situation in West LA is dire. VA's own data shows that there are 44 vacant social work positions in West LA, yet you've canceled contracts with seemingly no plan to replace them with internal manpower. I'm usually, for bringing VA care back in house, that we hire internally directly. But veterans should not be left without case management or a case manager who is stretched too thin, while you struggle to fill these vacancies. Do you know what VA regulations require that case managers serving veterans in the HUD VASH are supposed to have a caseload of about 25 veterans, with some adjustments for need level?
So President Trump is proposing to bring in an additional 6,000 homeless veterans to West LA. You have a severe shortage of case managers, and you've canceled the contracts that you used to help bridge the significant gap. I'm sorry, sir. The math just is not adding up, Under Secretary Bartram.
Speaker 6
So, sir, if I can make a couple of points. Currently, the case management ratio of number of veterans they are serving is below both the national guideline standards of 25 to 25 and at approximately the national average. We fully agree with you, though, sir, that, in order to
Speaker 2
Doctor Toll, let me interrupt you here. We're hearing from veterans themselves that there are case managers, excuse me, case managers, that they have 300 veterans, 300 patients on their panels.
Speaker 6
I am not aware of that. I will say, sir, this is one of a difficult job to do, and I support our employees doing this work, and it is important work. The data that we have show that the ratio is below the one to 25 mark. But we do agree with you, sir, that this is a workforce that is going to need to grow, and we have plans to grow it commensurate with the growth of residents on campus.
Speaker 2
Well, I suggest you're far from ready to deal with 6,000 homeless veterans, that you intend to house at the campus. I'm over time. I'm sorry. I yield back.
Speaker 1
Gentleman yields back. Representative King Hines, your representative, are you rep for five minutes? You really are.
Speaker 7
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So I'm from the Northern Mariana Islands where we don't have a Seaborg. And I was going through in preparation for today's oversight hearing, I was going through the major construction request. And what struck me was almost a $100,000,000 for an 800-space parking structure. And so I guess my first question is how much of the budget is actually veteran-facing versus administrative or community infrastructure?
I
Speaker 5
So in our budget, sometimes it'll appear that things aren't veteran facing when they are supporting the veteran in the community. The parking supports our veterans who live in the housing unit so that they can park. And I'd like to do is, Brett, if you'd like to talk about the projects that we're doing and how we're building the community out because the comments that have been made about, are we ready? I would say that when we got this, it was not ready to be a community, and we are doing things to make it a community. And that's what we'll talk about in our budget request.
Speaker 8
Thank you. That's a great question, Congresswoman. Parking is a challenge at every VA medical center. I don't think anyone would doubt that. On the North Campus, we've actually taken out of service virtually every parking lot that existed to build permanent supportive housing.
So there's no parking. For the veterans, for visitors, for the staff servicing the veterans, this parking garage is intended to provide that in a single place to open up other land that we can put housing on. There are other asks within there that are both clinical in nature. Our community living center, our domiciliary programs both have upgrades and expansion of bed capacity included in the 27 ask, as well as the ranking member had mentioned sober living. Building 212 is designed to be a 100-bed sober living unit, filling one of those gaps and needs for other types of housing available on the campus.
Speaker 7
I guess what I'm trying to reconcile is the price tag. Right? And I think everybody can agree that everybody wants to work on addressing the homelessness situation. And so when you're looking at the 500,000,000 budget requests and then the 100,000,000 price tag on parking requests, I wanna understand what is the metrics whereby the cost per bed for each housing structure is analyzed.
Speaker 8
So that's a great question. So, as you noted, most of these buildings are not permanent supportive housing. We do have information on the cost per bed for the permanent supportive housing that we could provide. But I will also say that I wish construction were cheaper. We could certainly do a lot more.
The cost of construction has continued to escalate for every type of project that we do, whether it be beds, parking, or utility infrastructure. That price tag just continues to escalate. Parking is an example of something we do at almost all of our campuses that we used to be able to do for 30 or 40,000,000 that is now quickly approaching that 100,000,000.
Speaker 7
Okay. I get that. I guess, you know, in terms of just getting a full understanding of the ask, I think one of the issues is not getting a full campus master plan. And so, once you have exhausted the $500,000,000, do you anticipate additional cost to that? Because as we do coming from a jurisdiction that has to deal with supply chain issues and just inflation of construction costs, you know, what are you beyond the $500,000,000, what is the annual operating cost that you, you know, that you expect?
Just so that we have a full grasp of how much this is actually gonna cost, given the fact that, you know, you are renovating a nineteen thirties property. Right? And there's gonna be some permitting issues. And so, you know, was there an analysis done whether it'd be better to just build a new infrastructure altogether or actually comply with a lot of these regulatory requirements that can be incredibly expensive in the state of California?
Speaker 8
Yeah. Fully appreciate that, Congresswoman. And the short answer is there will be more asks. We have both infrastructure needs beyond what we're asking for in '27, as well as ongoing operational needs. There is $30,000,000 in the health care budget to support the operations of a lot of what we're doing on the North Campus there.
That's gonna be enduring, and there will be more, both staffing and other types of facility operational components that will be added to that. So there will be more. This is sort of the down payment to build that foundation of a campus that can support more and more veterans that would be moving on. But there will be additional costs and future budget requests that we'll be working with the administration to provide.
Speaker 1
Gentlemen, I'm Neil Jack. Represent Brownlee, you're recognized for five minutes.
Speaker 4
Thank you, mister chairman, and thank you to the panel for being here. Miss Runyon, according to your own data from VA's by-name list, nearly 400 veterans experiencing homelessness in VA are over the age of 65. Another 350 veterans are between 50 and 65 years old. That's nearly half of the by-name list that will be over the age of 60 within the next 10 years. So my question to you is how many existing permanent supportive housing buildings at West LA have a nurse on site?
Speaker 3
Thank you for your question, Congresswoman. I'm gonna turn that over to Doctor O'Toole to provide you with the information on that.
Speaker 6
Thank you, Congresswoman. I, first, I appreciate you raising that question because it's just I need a
Speaker 6
It is much more, though, ma'am, than just the number of nurses. We are planning an entire aging-in-place health care support system.
Speaker 6
I do not know the specific number currently in place, but I just wanna reassure you it is something we are actively planning for and anticipate.
Speaker 4
It sounds like you understand that our older vets who have cognitive, mobility, or other health issues that hinder their ability to manage finances or complete basic housekeeping tasks, that this places them at risk of homelessness. But having regular assistance with activities of daily living and help with medication management can help diminish aging veterans' homelessness risk. My bill, the Elizabeth Dole Act, expanded VA's authority to provide home and community based services to help veterans safely age at home. LA County's framework for ending veteran homelessness suggests the VA create assisted living arrangements for aging veterans. Calvet and Swords to Plowshares have a program that providing supportive services to aging and vulnerable veterans to help them maintain housing stability and to safely age in place.
And the National Alliance to End Homelessness has a partnership with US Aging to leverage resources to address these issues as well. So my question is, how is VA going to incorporate these supportive services into its plan to care for the aging veteran population? So you can provide some examples and be brief, because I have a few more questions to ask.
Speaker 6
Certainly. Well, I can say, you know, I have personally done site visits both to our Northern California EUL system in Sacramento, as well as the Colma EUL in South San Francisco, looking specifically at how they are managing aging in place and providing those additional services to project-based voucher residents. We need to be doing this. Completely agree. And, it is something we are working on as part of.
Speaker 4
The plan. So if you're working on it, is there a way in which you can give us some information about how much help you need in order to have adequate services for aging veterans? And give us some kind of plan, because the plan that we saw last night doesn't include any specificity. Specificity.
Speaker 6
Absolutely. And we would welcome the opportunity to work with anyone adequately resourcing it.
Speaker 4
Miss Runyon, I just wanted to ask you. My veterans in my district are absolutely 100% dependent on the West LA Medical Center. And you're well aware of the long standing partnership of UCLA, and the Medical Center. And, my data says that that partnership has helped over 80,000 veterans each year with over a million health care visits. So to me, this partnership is absolutely critically important for the health and welfare of our veterans in the region.
So I just wanted to hear from you, that you also believe that that partnership is critically important.
Speaker 3
Congresswoman, I would say yes. And let me clarify for you, the public, anyone who is unaware. That is unrelated to the lease agreement. And I would also turn it over to the undersecretary if he has anything to add on that front with respect to the medical services they provide.
Speaker 5
Yeah. The medical services and the partnership between the hospitals and between the two facilities, whether it be for research or medical care, none of that is impacted by the lease or litigation.
Speaker 4
Well, I just think the lease and the litigation and this partnership, you say they're separate, but I think differently about that, that they're interrelated. And in fact, I think the partnership is that VA needs that partnership more than UCLA needs that partnership. And so as a consequence, I just hope that there will never be any action by the VA or an executive order that would impede this partnership in any way, shape, or form. So I see that my time is up. I haven't been able to ask the questions that I wanted to ask, but I will yield back.
Speaker 1
The general lady yields back. Represent Van Arden. Recognize five minutes.
Speaker 9
Did you put a down payment on your home? Yes. Did you know what the percentage of the cost of the home was gonna be?
Speaker 9
Yeah. Okay. So there's no way in hell you're gonna come here and say, 500000000 is a down payment. You can't tell me what the actual cost is. You're gonna come back from our stuff.
That is absurd. And it is indicative of the fact that this project is going to be a further boondoggle, and I think that this really is a gross demonstration of what we call corruption. And it's been going on since 1888, and it's unacceptable, and it's stopping. So you look at this. Current map.
Possible renderings. I don't understand how you guys can come here and ask for half $1,000,000,000 for a possible rendering. I mean, this we were not doing this any longer. And I guarantee you that President Trump, if he was aware of this, he's a builder. He builds things.
He knows how much stuff costs. He has actual renderings. So this is unacceptable on all levels, and it has been for multiple administrations. And I absolutely commend President Trump and the secretary for, you know, trying to fix this, but this is not how this gets fixed. This will perpetuate this problem in perpetuity.
I don't know who is gonna answer this question. Who currently is utilizing this campus? It's all in here, but no one's going to read this. They're gonna see a video. So who's utilizing this campus other than the VA?
Speaker 9
Okay. UCLA. Who else? The school's gone. How many entities external to the VA are utilizing this campus right now?
Speaker 3
Do you have that information? We can certainly take that for the record.
Speaker 9
Okay, ma'am. We need to make this public. This whole thing is just absurd. How much is the real estate valued at? The actual real estate.
We don't know.
Speaker 3
We could easily come up with that based on the appraisal that we have for the parcels that we
Speaker 9
Thank you. I would be appraised. I would appreciate that, ma'am. This is not Kansas. This is West LA.
Speaker 6
So it's going to depend, obviously. Going back to congressman Brownlee's point about aging veterans. We would expect them to spend their lifetime with us on the campus.
Speaker 6
you. For younger veterans with shorter term needs, substance use, mental health needs following treatment, we would hope and expect they would be able to return to the community and community settings.
Speaker 9
So the goal is to empower our veterans who served our country honorably to get back into the community to be productive members of society. That's the primary focus of this campus. And then for those who can add, and as Miss Brownlee very aptly pointed out, the aging veterans to give them a place where they can live in dignity and safety. Is that correct?
Speaker 9
Okay. Well, then get a plan. That's all we're asking, because you don't have one. But I just we're not doing this. This falls under the purview of my subcommittee, and we've been trying to fix this problem for 3 years.
This is corruption, and it's gonna stop now.
Speaker 1
No one yields back. Representative Ramirez, you're recognized for five minutes. Yes.
Speaker 11
Thank you, chairman. I guess I'm not hearing, I don't have enough coffee today. Didn't hear Ramirez. Happy Wednesday. I wanna thank the witnesses for being here today.
Some of you know that prior to me coming to congress, I spent thirteen years serving in a social service organization, providing housing and shelter to homeless Chicagoans. I witnessed firsthand the multilayered effect of not having a stable home on our house neighbors. And I'll be honest with you, it impacted absolutely everything, from health outcomes to access to education, to job retention, connections with family, the list goes on. It's why for me as ranking member of the subcommittee on oversight and investigations, I made it a priority to ensure that the most vulnerable of our veterans are receiving the care and support they need. However, it's clear to me that this administration's intent on dismantling and defending programs that would effectively address veteran homelessness.
Last year, Trump issued an executive order calling for his agencies to force people experiencing homelessness into institutions against their will. And his last case, former A. G. Bondi and Collins made sure to follow suit with Project Safe Harbor, an initiative through which VA plans to try to weaponize the guardianship system to force homeless and at-risk veterans into treatment. Their actions are intended to appease Trump at the expense of veterans.
But let me ask, weaponizing guardianship and institutionalizing veterans, what will it actually do to address the root causes of homelessness in our country? Frankly, I think it's gonna lead to worse outcomes for the most vulnerable of our veterans. So today, I wanna really focus my questions on Project Safe Harbor. Doctor Atul, Greater Los Angeles is one of the sites for Project Safe Harbor, an initiative that would result in veterans losing their autonomy to make decisions for themselves, including what treatment to get and where to live. So my question to you, doctor Atul, how many homeless veterans or veterans at risk of homelessness in LA has VA already enrolled in Project Safe Harbor?
Speaker 3
If you don't mind, congresswoman, I would like to answer on the guardianship front. That is strictly established to make sure that veterans receive proper.
Speaker 11
Care. I wanna know specifically right now. What my question is, is how many homeless veterans or veterans at risk of homelessness have been enrolled on Project Safe Harbor? Is that what you're answering?
Speaker 11
It's a guardianship. Doctor Tua. Let me confirm that. It's my time. So I wanted to doctor to Tua.
Speaker 6
Well, thank you, ma'am, for the question, and I also appreciate the opportunity to provide some clarification on this. First off, Project Safe Harbor was an IPT and a professional team to look at what has been a long-standing issue of veterans who lack the mental capacity for decision making and to be able to assist them.
Speaker 11
I have information on the program, Doctor O'Toole. But the thing I need for the record right now is I need to be able to indicate how many veterans or veterans at risk of homelessness NLA has already been enrolled in the program. Is there any?
Speaker 6
Thank you, ma'am. As I was trying to state, the project Safe Harbor was looking at existing practices and best practices. And so I want to make that clear.
Speaker 6
I do not have the number offhand, but this would be related to existing practices. The focus.
Speaker 11
Doctor. I only have a minute and thirty seconds. So I'm for the record. I need that number. The second.
Speaker 6
Thing if I can focus on one of because you've brought this issue up, the focus is on veterans who are hospitalized. And I want to make sure that
Speaker 11
We're not gonna on veterans who've been hospitalized. That was actually one of the questions I had. Okay. Thank you. So let me ask you one last question, and maybe you need to come back to it.
But how many of those cases have been adjudicated by the court?
Speaker 11
You on that. I do need that for the record, chairman, if we can try to get that after. We're hearing that homeless veterans are already, thank you. We're hearing that homeless veterans are already being targeted for guardianship, which is contrary to what you told us during your last conversation. So I guess my question is to you, Doctor Atul.
The project Safe Harbor has planning documents that clearly state that the project's objectives are not just to place veterans already in care into guardianships, but also to those on the streets. During your last testimony, when you came before us, you claimed that those documents were outdated. What parts of those documents were outdated?
Speaker 6
Thank you, ma'am. And I appreciate that question and the opportunity to clarify. This process began as an effort of looking at a long-standing issue of veterans who lack mental capacity for decision making and what is the best approach to it. The early document was looking at one of several options and considerations. Project Safe Harbor is looking at existing best practices.
Speaker 11
Thank you. My time is up, unfortunately. Doctor. So if there's a second round, I'd love to be able to follow up.
Speaker 12
Thank you, mister chair, and I thank our witnesses for being here today. Mister Bartram, how often does the VA conduct oversight on the entities and organizations that have agreements and leases on the West LA campus?
Speaker 5
So we have a program management staff at the facility, but Miss Runyon can talk more about the specifics, and Brett can talk about the contracting with the enhanced use lease to give you more specifics.
Speaker 3
Thank you, Congresswoman. To make clear, you know, this is a tremendous, there are a lot of challenges here that we have inherited. Particularly, the West LA leasing act allowed for the property to be farmed out to third parties and even has a carve-out for UCLA. So what we've inherited and what we've been working on is the process to make sure that we get this right once and for all. That takes time.
That can't happen overnight. So what are we doing to provide oversight? Just recently, we had requested that an inspection of all the EULs be done. I just received the report. We wanna make sure that veterans are living in a safe, drug-free environment where they can thrive.
And as you all are aware, that's not happening, and we're taking care of that. But this didn't just happen overnight, and this didn't happen on President Trump's watch.
Speaker 12
Excuse me. I know you inherited a mess. We inherited a mess with high inflation, and international conflicts. So I'm not disputing that. I was just asking how often the VA conducts oversight?
Is that once a year? Is that continual? Just a ballpark figure, Mr. Bartram, if you could.
Speaker 3
And I am happy to answer that because I have the answer. So thank you, Congresswoman. We're gonna be doing that no less than monthly.
Speaker 12
Okay. Thank you. Mister Bartram, the committee staff were made aware of safety and security concerns on campus. I think this has been alluded to. Do you believe it's appropriate for illegal activities such as drug distribution and prostitution to happen on federal land?
Speaker 5
I do not. And that's the reason that we've put, we've increased VA police security. They've grown from in the fifties to sixties to last year to over 80, and we're moving towards 160. We also just put in place, we were just awarded an additional security contract for some additional security. We've put in a lighting contract that's put into place.
But as I fully agree with you on what's been stated earlier, security is job one. The veterans have to feel secure on the campus.
Speaker 3
And if I may, there's an important point that needs to be made here. You know, we have our VA police force. We're increasing our security, but our assistant secretary for the office of security and preparedness met with the LA sheriff's office about two months ago because we wanted to see if we can engage in a contract for 24 hour patrol support. We were told that they're down 2,000 police officers and that their morale is low and that they're not even to meet their own needs. So please be assured, and we're happy to continue to update you.
We are trying to do everything we can to make sure that this community for our veterans is safe.
Speaker 12
Thank you. What's your current, Mister Bartram? What's your current timeline for when Congress should expect an updated master plan? So it sounds like you're putting things in place. I understand the constraints that you have. We share those constraints, especially with this being National Police Week.
But, when do you expect Congress to have an updated master plan?
Speaker 5
Sure. So as you alluded to, you know, we all inherited this, and we're building this as we go. I think that we will continue to develop our plan over the next several months. And, Danielle, do you have a time frame? I'm assuming there'll be something towards the end of the year.
Speaker 3
What I can commit to is, again, we are happy to provide you with regular updates. We are very much committed to achieving President Trump's objectives. We are going to achieve those objectives. So, we're happy to continue to update you, and we look forward to having that finalized plan.
Speaker 12
Okay. And, mister Bartram, how many acres on the West LA campus are currently not being used directly for veterans' housing or veteran care?
Speaker 3
Congresswoman, I can answer that question? Presently, the northern part of the North Campus is impacted by a few things. One is the Brentwood lease that we talked about. That's about 22 acres of land. We will be happily providing you with an update when we have the future state of what that is going to look like.
We also learned that there are significant environmental concerns, which we are drilling down on to fully understand so that we can understand when we can actually develop on those portions of the property, and that consumes largely the northern part of the campus. As for the remainder of the campus, it's impacted by historical trees and other things. So we are very much, and for many months, we've been looking at precisely where we can construct and continue to build.
Speaker 13
Thank you, chairman. Thank you for being here today for your testimony. I'm deeply concerned that the VA is moving forward with plans to bring thousands of additional veterans to the West LA campus without first addressing the serious safety and operational failures already occurring there. Expanding housing capacity means nothing. The VA cannot guarantee a veteran's safe and stable environment once they arrive.
Meanwhile, veterans in West LA are reporting drug activity, overdoses, robberies, and major security breakdowns across a 388-acre campus patrol by only a handful of officers. So before the VA expands this effort any further, I do have some questions. Mister Bertram, ensuring the safety and security of veterans and employees on the West LA campus should be one of the VA's most basic responsibilities. Do you believe the West LA campus is currently a safe place to live and work? And if not, who within the VA is accountable for fixing that?
Speaker 5
So we agree that safety and security is critical and that we must have a safe and secure campus. And that's, as I stated earlier, that's why we have increased our security presence to the campus with up to 165 officers that are being onboarded. We're at 80 right now, and we were at 50 last year. We are working on, we have just approved a new lighting process project that will be, I think the estimate is about 3.5 million dollars to expand lighting around the campus. We have a security infrastructure project that's going on to support and bring full time security there while we continue to increase our VA police folks.
So they were doing a lot of things because you're right. We can't have a broken-glass approach to this. We've gotta have a layered approach to security. We gotta make sure they're secure. What I'd like to also add is.
Speaker 13
Okay. And how do you expect the VA to recruit and retain these officers and keep the campus safe when Secretary Collins is trying to move forward with changes that could cut pay for many VA officers by $10,000 and drive more officers out the door?
Speaker 5
I would disagree with that assertion, sir, because what secretary has been doing is trying to increase the entry level of our security officers to a GS six, to increase their pay and to ensure that they have a pipeline for growing so we can develop officers to go up through the ranks.
Speaker 13
Are you familiar with the cutting or the lowering of pay grade for officers within the VA system?
Speaker 5
I'm familiar with that there was a desire at that effect. I think it came through OPM, but I'm also familiar that we are moving forward with increasing their classification status and increasing their GS levels.
Speaker 5
I am not personally aware of them, and the head of OSP, retired general Reg Neal, could give you more detail on that, so we can circle back on that.
Speaker 13
Alright. Well, look. The VA has an obligation to provide veterans, especially those who are disabled, with the most basic expectation of safety and security. And right now, veterans and employees at the West LA campus are describing serious security failures and staffing shortages. So before the VA moves forward with bringing thousands more veterans, the department needs to demonstrate that it can safely care for veterans already there.
Right now, President Trump and Secretary Collins have not done that.
Speaker 5
Sir, could I add on, we totally agree with you that we need a secure campus for our employees as well as our veterans. But in addition, in the budget, part of the budget plan is $30,000,000 for VHA operations in West LA to support wrap-around services and enhanced staffing. So, the question was brought up earlier about case managers. That allows us to buy more case managers, allow employees or contracts, allows us to support more social workers, and allows us to make sure that we build out our teams. In addition to that, several months ago, after I got in the seat as the undersecretary, I directed the West LA.
They have a mobile health clinic out there. So to address some of the issues of mobility with some of our older veterans who are out who are in LA, we are now using the mobile clinic on the homeless campus side. So three days a week, they can get care right there without having to come to the clinic. So we're doing and building that out. And in addition to that, in the buildings that we're building, and Brett could give you more details on it, but we're building out community centers that will put in additional aspects such as, you know, some of our stores so people can have access to coffee shops, clinics.
So, because we have to build a community, not just a housing complex.
Speaker 13
I appreciate your optimism. The things that I've heard have given me less hope than you are providing here today. That being said, I do wanna say this has been years in the making. Every indication thus far, it has been a categorical failure of planning, and we need to do better for our veterans. I'm out of time.
Mister chairman, I yield back. Thank you.
Speaker 1
Gentlemen, yields back. So for the members, I want to let you know that I know how important this is. We are pressed for time. If you have other questions, please submit those in writing. But that being said, with that, we're going to work with the staff to try to make sure we bring you back for more questions.
Also, be assured that my questions that I ask, that they do believe that we as congress have oversight, and, also, that those lease agreements, if we request that we can get that information. So, with this panel, I'd like to excuse you. I'd love for you to stay around for the next panel, but, with that, your excuse.
Speaker 1
Second panel, we'll get ready, and we'll get the sign or the nameplates changed over, and we'll start in a moment. Do what? Do what? Alright. Our second panel is now before us.
On that panel, we have doctor Nelson Suhu, associate dean of graduate medical education and designated institutional officer for the UCLA health system at the University of California in Los Angeles. Miss Tess Vancough, West LA project director and veterans collective community del... Developer director at US Vets. Doctor Richard Valdez, past state commander at the Disabled American Veterans Department of California. And doctor Jim Zenner, or mister Jim Zenner, executive director at the LA County Department of Military Veterans Affairs.
I will ask the witnesses to please stand and raise their right hand. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you're about to provide is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Thank you, and let the record reflect that the witnesses answered in the affirmative. Doctor and I recognize doctor Suhu for five minutes to deliver your testimony.
Speaker 10
Good morning, Chairman Bost, Ranking Member Takano, and members of the committee. It is a pleasure to be here today. My name is Nelson Suhu. I'm the associate dean for graduate medical education at UCLA.
Speaker 10
My name is Nelson Suhu. I'm the associate dean for graduate medical education at the UCLA School of Medicine, responsible for resident physicians. I've also proudly served as an orthopedic surgeon at the West LA VA for the last 20 years. Taking care of our veterans is a very personal mission to me and a vital service to our community. My own father, Jack Suhu, served in the Air Force during the Korean War.
His service left me and my family with a lasting appreciation for the sacrifices all veterans and their families make for our country. Through my own work, I've witnessed firsthand how UCLA's partnership with the VA strengthens veterans' care while advancing the mission of both of our institutions. I strive to instill in every resident we train the debt that we owe to our veterans. UCLA resident physicians serve on the VA health care team in 57 medical specialties. In addition, three-quarters of our medical students train and serve veterans at VA facilities.
You say resident physicians and faculty are involved in every surgery, all inpatient care, and the vast majority of outpatient care at the West LA VA medical center. This includes approximately 3,000 surgeries every year and more than 1,000,000 patient visits each year for over 80,000 veterans. We have also developed critical programs to address veterans' most pressing needs. I've seen firsthand how veterans struggle to navigate care in the community, and we train our physicians to understand the social and psychological challenges they face every day. This includes PTSD treatment and research, as well as psychiatric care and advancing substance abuse treatment.
Our commitment is reflected in our creation of a specific VA-based track in our psychiatry residency program. Each year, we match eight residents specifically to this track based on their dedication to the mission of serving veterans. While the core of our work at the West LA VA is our medical mission, we also have a lease of the land where Jackie Robinson's baseball stadium is located. That lease was authorized by Congress in 2016, and the VA's Office of Inspector General has concluded on multiple occasions that the lease is fully compliant with the law. Under that lease, UCLA has agreed to provide rent payments and $13,500,000 in kind contributions to veterans programs over a ten-year period.
This is above and beyond the medical care that we render at the West LA VA Medical Center. UCLA has already exceeded those obligations by over $2,000,000. This includes $4,000,000 for the veterans legal clinic, where in the last six years, UCLA law students and clinic staff have helped veterans secure an additional $24,000,000 in lifetime benefits. It also includes over $4,500,000 for the Veterans Family Well-being Center, which provides veterans and their families with well-being and resilience training. Since opening in 2017, the center has welcomed nearly 40,000 attendees at education and community-building events and has completed around 10,000 resilience training sessions for over 1,300 participants.
These are just two of the many programs and services that UCLA delivers under the lease, at no additional cost to the VA or veterans. Our seventy-year partnership with the VA and commitment to veteran service also extends beyond our work at the West LA VA. One key example is Operation Mend, a program UCLA helped pioneer alongside the United States military. As part of that program, we provide free advanced surgical and medical treatment, comprehensive psychological evaluation and support, and intensive treatment programs for post-9/11 veterans with PTSD and traumatic brain injury. Operation Mend, which is part of the Wounded Warrior Project's warrior care network, is the only program of its kind in the nation, and has been one of the greatest privileges of my career to help restore function to these veterans using the most advanced surgical techniques.
We recognize that there are questions regarding the long-term future of UCLA's lease at the West LA VA. UCLA is committed to working in good faith with our partners at the VA toward a mutually agreeable solution. Whatever the outcome of these discussions, UCLA will continue to proudly serve veterans at the West LA VA Medical Center. For decades, UCLA and the VA have worked together to train the next generation of physicians, advance medical research, and most importantly, deliver the highest quality of care to those heroes who have sacrificed for our country. I hope my own role in this long relationship honors both my father and every veteran that we serve.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify, and I welcome the committee's questions.
Speaker 1
Thank you, Doctor Suhu. The written statement, Doctor Suhu, will be entered into the hearing record. And, Miss Banko, you are now recognized for five minutes for your opening test statement.
Speaker 15
Here today. My name is Theresa Tesfenko. I'm an 80 percent disabled Marine Corps veteran, active duty suicide surviving widow that has been serving the military and veterans community for over 20 years, having overcome challenges of my own. I'm not known if I would ever walk again, cradled a folded flag, and been immolated by the final crushing echo of the 21-gun salute. I'm a person who knows what lies in the silence alone when the door to your refuge closes on horrifying and life-altering events.
I also grew up homeless, and I want to thank you all for the programs and opportunities that allowed me to get up and give back. Uplifting and supporting what's possible and positive in housing and recovery is just as important and sacred to the team that I work with as it is to me. The West LA VA neighborhood is the first of its kind and scope to remodel, repurpose, or build new between one and two dozen buildings in partnership with the VA, veterans, and over 70 stakeholders and partnering organizations. In 2018, through a competitive process, the VA selected the West Los Angeles Veterans Collective as the principal developer team of the West LA VA campus. The principal developer model was chosen by VA because it is the most effective way to cohesively plan and manage such a complex system of housing and services over the long term.
The Veterans Collective has three organizations, including a housing developer with extensive mixed-use experience, a nonprofit developer with extensive permanent supportive housing experience, and the largest national nonprofit provider of veterans transitional housing and services. The collective isn't just building housing alongside VA. We aspire to that vibrant, empowering, and deliberate therapeutic community that meets the needs of veterans' families and where people genuinely want to live. While there are many reasons people become unsheltered, putting on a uniform should never be one of them. And I know you agree with me.
We believe all who served our country deserve a place where they can find community and get gold-standard care and services that they need to succeed, not just shelter from the storm. From the outset in 2018, the collective leveraged our expertise to build on the existing 2016 framework master plan, started by collecting additional input from veterans and other experts. This work informed updates to the 2016 master plan in 2018, and, ultimately, the VA's adoption of the 2022 master plan for the permanent supportive housing and services community for both resident and nonresident veterans. We simultaneously worked alongside VA to fulfill national environmental policy and National Historic Preservation Act requirements, which started in 2017, took over two years to complete. Our final design soon after reachable clearance and our infrastructure and predevelopment work with the VA began, a total investment which current day has brought more than 200,000,000 in critical infrastructure improvements to the VA neighborhood.
As we move this crucial work forward, the broader community began to see the physical results of years of planning work grounded in the hopes of the many veterans who longed to call the West LA VA home. Our first development, Building 207, previously sat vacant for decades, broke ground in December 2020, and opened to residents in February 2023. The building reached full occupancy within months. The building's 207's 59 units were just the beginning. Today, if you walk the neighborhood, you can feel the momentum.
We've completed six buildings totaling 407 permanent supportive housing units, and six more buildings are under construction that will soon offer an additional 360 homes to veterans in need. By 2026, an astounding 1,089 new permanent supportive homes at West LA will have been put into service in less than four years. I'm proud to say that as of last year, the principal developer team has raised more than 1,000,000,000 in total funding commitments to make all of this possible. As we continue to build housing, we cannot lose strength or sight of managing the housing and ensuring the neighborhood promotes safety, improves health outcomes, and overall, this is the kind of environment that veterans want to live in rather than are forced to live in. It means working as one team, like the master association, community partner, and provider alliance, spanning the continuum of housing and services.
We look forward to continuing to work with the VA, other developers, and community partners to create and support these systems of administration for the long-term stability of neighborhood operations. This includes incorporating our previous work with the National Center for Warrior Independence. The nation's largest community for veterans cannot succeed without a strong, honest relationship with the VA. We meet with VA leadership, including the Office of Asset and Enterprise Management, to become aligned on priorities, resolve issues, and hold ourselves mutually accountable to veterans in the neighborhood. Communication, coordination, and continuity take constant focus across the span of years and political administrations.
Our goals remain fundamentally aligned. We're determined to continue on our mission until no veteran is left sleeping on the streets in the country they fought to protect. I look forward to working with this committee to support our work in the years to come. Thank you. I welcome your questions.
Speaker 1
Thank you, Miss Banco. Superfly. The written statement of Miss Banco will be entered into the hearing record. Okay. I think we're covered now.
Let's join again. Mister Vales, you are now recognized for five minutes to provide your testimony.
Speaker 14
Thank you, chairman, Bust, ranking member Tucano, and members of the committee. On behalf of DAV, Department of California, DAV Cal, I appreciate the opportunity to testify about the West LA campus master plan to provide housing and services for homeless veterans. DAV Cal is a state-chartered veteran service organization founded in 1922, which operates independently from the national DAV organization while supporting the same mission. Yes. It's on.
Maybe I had to sit closer. DAV KL does this by funding and managing a variety of assistance programs for veterans, including benefits and advocacy, employment assistance, and disaster and emergency relief. For decades, we have also operated a veteran transportation network, providing free rides for veterans to medical appointments at VA facilities. Mister chairman, my journey began in 1966 when I enlisted in the marine corps while still in high school. I spent 3 months, oh, excuse me.
In January 1967, I deployed to Vietnam, and less than 2 months later, I was wounded during combat operations. I spent 3 months recovering at the Naval Hospital in Guang. And while calm a blessing, I volunteered to return to my unit. I extended my tour in December 1967, and I returned in 1968 during the Tet Offensive. I suffered additional back injuries from mortar fire.
During my time in the Marine Corps, I was awarded the Purple Heart Combat Action Ribbon. I was honorably discharged, returned home, and began a 30 year career in the aerospace and defense sectors. After I retired, in 2003, a DAV service officer helped me apply for and receive VA benefits for my gunshot wound, back injuries, and PTSD. I soon became active with my local DAV chapter, department, and served as state commander from 2013 to 2014, legislative director from 2014 to 2019. In February 2015, I had the chance to meet with the then VA secretary, Bob McDonald, here in Washington, DC, to talk about the West LA VA draft master plan to provide housing and services for the homeless veterans.
Secretary McDonald recruited me to assist with the draft master plan and its implementation. Today, more than a decade later, lawsuits, legislation, and environmental impact studies, VA has yet to complete the plan. One of the issues the committee is looking at is the role of enhanced lease uses, the West Alley campus, including agreements VA negotiated and signed with the oil drilling. As you know, DAV Cal was a party to one of those VA agreements involving donations used for transportation, those services for the veterans around the campus. Although I did not negotiate or manage any of those agreements, I can provide background and context for the committee.
In March 2017, VA signed an agreement with Brightburn Energy that set in motion the continuation of oil drilling operations from a parcel of land at West LA. In exchange, Brightburn agreed to donate a portion of their oil royalties to support transportation services for veterans at West LA. VA then signed an agreement with DAV Cal to accept those bright burn donations and use them to transport veterans to and from medical appointments and benefits, out there in West L.A. While these agreements were in place from 2017 to 2024, DABCL received approximately $897,000 in donations, and disbursed $907,000 for transportation services. As reported to the committee last year, this included $667,000 for contracted trans transportation services and $240,000 for vehicle purchases and donated to the VA.
And DAV Cal continues to operate those VA-owned vehicles to drive veterans to and from medical appointments at West LA. Mister chairman, DAV Cal remains committed to playing whatever other role is necessary to finally establish a real home and community for homeless veterans and their families on the campus. That concludes my testimony, and I would be pleased to answer any questions from the committee.
Speaker 1
Thank you, Mr. Valdez. Simplifies well. The written statement of Mr. Valdez will be entered into the hearing record. Mister Zener, you are recognized for five minutes to provide your testimony.
Speaker 16
Good morning, chairman boss, ranking member Tucano, and the rest of the committee. My name is Jim Zenner. I'm the director of the LA County Department of Military Veteran Affairs, and I serve as the county veteran service officer. Thank you for the opportunity today to testify regarding the development of the National Center of Warrior Independence in the West Los Angeles VA campus. Addressing foundational issues is an absolute necessity if we are to fulfill the president's vision of a National Center for Warrior Independence.
To fully realize the vision and to deliver on the executive orders' directives for self-sufficiency and restored lives, I urge the committee to prioritize three specific actions. First, the immediate establishment of a federal veterans treatment court on the campus. Second, expansion of affordable housing units combined with critical flexibility and project-based housing programs. Third, addressing the jurisdictional gaps impacting the campus, including the policies creating those gaps. President Trump's May 2025 executive order sets an ambitious vision for the campus.
It envisions bold action so homeless veterans can access the comprehensive care, housing, and substance use treatment required to restore their independence. We broadly support the push for additional housing for veterans at West LA, but recognize the need for vouchers and the required funding to make it happen. We are seeing some headway with the VA's termination of non-veteran leases and the clearing of the land. However, that is an initial step in our goal to address a cycle of homelessness, untreated trauma, and the illicit activities that may undermine the center's success before it even begins. This is where a dedicated on-campus federal veteran treatment court becomes essential.
If a federal treatment court is implemented on the campus, my team will collaborate closely with the VA to make sure it has our support and is successful. This court could be a critical link to ensure veterans whose actions are tied to untreated behavioral health issues receive care, not just consequences. Nationwide, this model works. It reduces recidivism, improves housing outcomes, and significantly enhances public safety. Building on that stability requires a deeply collaborative approach to housing.
In Los Angeles County, we have witnessed the profound impact that the county, the VA, and the local service providers have working closely together. Through our one team initiative, we bring stakeholders together at the same time, at the same table. Through the barrier-busting work conducted by the one team, we have learned that veterans experiencing homelessness are not a monolithic group. They present with complex circumstances that do not seamlessly fit into the rigid scope of our current eligibility rules. Achieving the president's vision requires not just new facilities, but flexible solutions.
It is important to note that the West LA VA campus sits on unincorporated land, meaning Los Angeles County, rather than the city, is responsible for administering the housing vouchers on the campus. To maximize this effort, we will need a waiver so Hudvash project-based vouchers are not counted toward the cap with local public housing authorities. We must also allow veterans at risk of homelessness to qualify for these project-based units. If we concentrate our most high-need and highest acuity veterans in one location, we are creating a place where veterans are merely surviving their trauma rather than recovering and moving forward. To build a resilient community, we need to surround our most vulnerable with the varied life experiences of their peers.
To achieve this, we need a diverse portfolio of housing on the campus. This must include workforce housing for the hundreds of veterans employed on the campus, alongside transitional housing for recently separated service members and their families and our student veterans. Finally, we must confront the jurisdictional issues that are impeding campus operations. As veterans, we are entirely too familiar with the bureaucratic runaround. The frustration of being told our issues are not the responsibility of a specific jurisdiction.
This passing of the buck represents a lack of accountability and leaves critical gaps in service and safety. This problem is further aggravated by staffing shortages within the campus VAPD. The veteran administration police department is saddled with uncompetitive GS positions that hinder the ability to recruit and retain officers. I have worked to assist the local VAPD in navigating some jurisdictional hurdles, including a recent case involving a deceased veteran on the campus. These interactions have exposed systemic gaps.
Congress must identify opportunities to close these jurisdictional gaps and address the lapses in enforcement authority. At a minimum, veterans accessing the campus have earned the right to a safe, supportive environment in which to get treatment. Establishing the Veterans Treatment Court, expanding flexible housing options, and resolving these chronic jurisdictional shortfalls are not just policy tweaks. They are the fundamental actions required to honor the campus' original 1888 mission, fulfill the executive order's vision, and help veterans reclaim their independence. Thank you for your time, and I welcome your questions.
Speaker 1
Thank you, Mr. Zinc. Written testimony of Mister Zinc will be entered into the hearing record. Now I recognize myself for five minutes for questions of our second panel. Doctor Soho Suho, UCLA has been part of the Western West LA campus for a long, long time. So let me ask you plainly.
What is UCL bringing to the table today that directly improves the lives of veterans on the campus? Mike. Microphone. Sorry.
Speaker 10
In my 25 years as an orthopedic surgeon on staff at the VA and now in an administrative role overseeing our trainees, the relationship between UCLA and the VA is really a true partnership. The core of it is our medical mission. Every day, there are over 200 trainees at the VA, and all of the faculty, all the attendees of the VA, are eligible for faculty appointments at UCLA. We are bringing the highest quality of care to veterans. I've really seen this.
A lot of veterans, when they come, rightfully so, are oftentimes suspicious of the care that they're receiving or have difficult interactions with the health care system. One of the greatest things for us is to be able to say, we're from here, from UCLA. We're the part of the team taking care of you to give them confidence, to make them feel part of what we're doing. That's been one of the most gratifying things to see trust open up in patients when they hear where we're from, what we're doing with the same physicians that are there in training and teaching and helping care for them. In addition, myself, I first worked in the VA as a medical student in San Diego, then as a resident in Atlanta.
And now here, it was a big part of what drove me to be part of the VA as part of my career. Similarly, we're building a pipeline for the future. We teach our medical students and our residents what an honor it is to take care of the veterans, what a special population it is, and how they can be committed to this mission. In my own field, orthopedic surgery is very hard to get orthopedic surgeons anywhere. But every one of the orthopedic surgeons on our service, at some point in their care, were at the VA.
Most of them were my trainees previously in their career. And when they come back, that's something they prioritize. They wanna be part of the VA because they've seen what a special mission is, how important it is. So it is for us, it really is a true partnership in that regard.
Speaker 1
So what then could the veteran that has experienced this, and what would they say, this happened because UCLA stepped up? Where I mean, when a veteran receives certain care, they don't necessarily know where the doctor's coming from unless the doctor or nurse tells them that they're training. But can they actually, because for public relations, and I'm not doing it for just public relations, but I think it's very good that if a veteran could all of a sudden say, you know what? If it wasn't for USALA being here, I might not have got this treatment or I might not have got this. Is there something there that they can say and wave the flag for?
Speaker 10
Yeah. You know, as for better or worse, the Internet now, everyone looks up their doctor. Yep. So it's funny how often they come and say, hey. I see you're a utility doctor.
And when they come see me, and I can see it build such a trust. Like, they know that they're gonna get good care. Then they know we're part of the team. We're there to help them. It's interesting.
I mean, so I haven't even thought of that question. It's so ingrained in the culture. We've been so tied together well before my time and well after my time. It's almost like a question that he doesn't even rise. Seems like all the veterans know that this is a partnership.
This is where their doctors come from.
Speaker 1
Well, I think as we're working forward, the idea and intent is and you already said, regardless of what happens on the lease and everything like that, it still gives an opportunity for internships, for docs to provide that care. You know, a lot of but, unfortunately, a lot of veterans will look and feel that UCLS has done UCLA has done pretty good for itself over the years, accessing the facility and researching opportunities and all the training programs while the veterans are still waiting to see the campus fully live up to where it's supposed to be. So are you getting caught in that, in the fear that maybe we lose the opportunity for you to serve us? And I like I said, I know in your testimony, you said that it has nothing to do with the lease, but the general public would look at it and think maybe it does. Does that make sense?
Speaker 1
Maybe. Okay. Sorry. And I'm gonna try to do this with the time I got left. There's perception, and there's reality. Reality is that you and the UCL docs come in.
They get their training. They get an opportunity for all these patients. But tied with that or what the general public sees is tied with that is a baseball stadium. How do we change that perspective without getting rid of the lease?
Speaker 10
Yeah. I think, again, from my perspective, the core of our relationship is the medical mission. You know, as a surgeon and as an administrator, that's the core of what we do. In my mind, the baseball stadium seems to be a small part of our relationship. Now I will say I wouldn't want to minimize because I definitely have heard stories from veterans that go to the games.
Yeah. The team really is interacting with them. For any individual veteran, it can really be something that helps them reenter from the very difficult challenges they face in life, addiction, post traumatic stress disorder. We've heard real stories about how it impacts, so I wouldn't want to minimize that. I mean, I think overall, it's a small part of our mission.
But, you know, in my role as every patient you help. Mhmm. That's the world to them. So while it's a small part, I wouldn't want to minimize the impact it has for those veterans that partake in that portion of it. But, really, the core of what we do is our medical mission.
Speaker 1
has expired. Ranking member, you're recognized for five minutes. Yes. Miss Brown, you're recognized for five minutes.
Speaker 4
Thank you, mister chair, and thank you, mister Takano, for allowing me to go first. I appreciate it. Doctor Suho, thank you for being here. And, you know, I wanted to just ask a little bit more about what you do and how important this training program is. I wonder if you could address, or if you know off the top of your head, you know, how many doctors, nurses, and social workers that are UCLA educated and VA trained end up going to work at the VA?
Do you have any sense of that?
Speaker 10
Yeah. I don't have so my impression is the vast majority, and my personal experience in my own department, I would have to say every one of the attending physicians at some point, I believe, rotated at the West LA, may have been at some other VAs. To give you a sense of the scale of relationship, as I mentioned, during the course of the year, over 900 of our residents will rotate through the VA at some point. That's representing over 250 people on site at any one time delivering care to the veterans. You know, I always my residents always have to suffer through stories from me, but I always tell them, if you ever get a chance to ask a veteran about their service, that you should take that chance.
And I'll never forget about ten to fifteen years ago, I was seeing one of the, you know, few World War two veterans that we care for, and I just haven't asked, oh, tell me a little bit about your service. And he mentioned to me that he was at D-Day. And I'm not a military person, but he told me, I don't know if it was a division or a battalion, but it was some huge number. And he said he was the only one that came back. And those kinds of lessons that we teach our residents and our medical students, I think, ingrains in them the importance of this mission and makes them want to have this as part of their career.
I had a resident of mine ten years ago in private practice in Seattle call me up and said, they still call me doctor Sue when they graduate. I'm interested in taking a job at the VA in Arizona. What do you think? And, of course, we went over it, but that was based on his experience as a resident. And he's there now doing the highest, he's one of the best residents we ever had.
He's there now doing shoulder surgery on those veterans and taking great care of them. So.
Speaker 4
Yeah. That’s great. So I'm not sure exactly how the match program works once, you know, a medical student graduates. But is there the students ask for a match at a VA medical center?
Speaker 10
You know, it's interesting. I had referenced before most training programs, this VA is a component of their training program. So you would match it to a training program, you may or may not rotate it to VA depending on your hospital. Something special about our program mentioned is that we develop a track in psychiatry where you're matching to be at the VA. So we have 8 slots at UCLA.
We have 8 slots at Santa Monica, and we have 8 slots at the VA. So we're picking you because you're dedicated to this mission. And we, of course, expect that's building the pipeline of, like, one of the most in-demand specialties in particular to the VA group. We're building a pipeline. Those people are clearly, the vast majority of them are gonna go work somewhere in a VA across the country.
Speaker 4
Very good. Well, that mental health component is absolutely critical to the VA. Mister Valdez, thank you for being here. Thank you for your service to our country. Thank you for your leadership, with regards to disabled veterans and certainly your leadership around the LA campus and how it has evolved.
So I appreciate it very much. I was wondering, I wanted to ask you what you think about representing veterans. What do you think of VA's plan to bring 6,000 homeless veterans from around the country, ultimately to the VA campus?
Speaker 4
No. I'm just I just want you to talk about how do you think veterans you represent veterans. How do you think veterans across the country would feel about coming, you know, leaving a home base and coming to the LA campus?
Speaker 14
My personal opinion on that, if I was here in Washington, disabled, and this offer came up, I'd rather be home to receive the same sort of care instead of having to travel across the country. Now that's just my opinion.
Speaker 4
Well, that's what I hope for too, and that's certainly the Elizabeth Dolak was about, to bring, you know, bring those services into homes because that's where veterans want to receive their care if they're able to. Okay. And, do you think, in terms of transportation, it doesn't look like I have a lot of time, but maybe we can, I can ask this offline, but, you know, ways in which we can improve the transportation system? I know my veterans utilize that, and it's a long trip from LA to the medical center and back, and if there are ways in which we can improve that. So I'll catch up with you offline.
Speaker 1
Thank you. Gentlewoman yields back. Representative King Hines, your represent you are recognized for five minutes.
Speaker 7
Thank you. This question is for Miss Banco. What is US vet's role in the construction of the National Center for Wire Independence?
Speaker 15
The collective has developers who specialize not only in the housing development aspect, but also in services. US Vets is a housing developer, but also the lead service provider for the collective buildings.
Speaker 7
Okay. Alright. Can you speak then about how many security guards are patrolling the enhanced use lease that US Vets operates?
Speaker 15
Absolutely. Well, it's actually a requirement under the PDEUL amendment. So the PDEUL is the umbrella agreement with VA, that covers all of the different subsequent subleases for the different buildings. There's been an amendment to that that requires all of the PDE well covered developers to have two security personnel on duty twenty four seven. And so those two elements of what we call the safety and security team are one contracted security guard and one trained veteran safety and security specialist.
So this is a veteran peer with safety and de-escalation training, that patrols all of the different buildings under the collective.
Speaker 7
Okay. And what communication do you have with the VA and veterans on campus?
Speaker 15
Well, it really depends on what level of communication. I mean, we meet regularly with the office of asset enterprise management. I personally am responsible for the operation of the safety and security team for the principal developer team. So I have an assigned person that I meet with in OAEM regularly. We have monthly reporting to the OAEM.
In addition, if there is an incident that requires VAPD response, because our safety and security team is observing, report only, there's no jurisdiction for them to be able to take action if there's some type of activity going on, besides being able to observe and report and hopefully deescalate. VAPD is the first call. So we have regular communication. In addition to the SST, the staffing component of it, we have, from 10 AM to 6 PM, talk down cameras that are monitored. So we're able to see, you know, activity that goes on after hours, and a warning is issued if, you know, the activity does not disperse.
And then VAPD is called by the dispatch service. So there's different components that are really intended to speak to the different aspects of safety and security amongst the ewealth buildings.
Speaker 7
Because there's a lot of conversation about safety and security, drug use, prostitution, right, which is very concerning. And so how do you believe safety and security can be improved on campus to address, you know, these issues that have been raised in previous conversations?
Speaker 15
Well, I mean, I think one key point that's been made is the fact that, you know, the safety and security team that we operate is observing reports. So calls then go into the VAPD. I think that increasing the communication, and being able to address issues in the timeliest manner possible is really important, and I know it can be challenging to do that when understaffed, unfortunately. So, I think also, the things that we're doing and what we've put in place in terms of the master association, so working with other developers, outlining the different issues that may be occurring across buildings, trying for prevention and early intervention. So identifying, I mean, at its root in the permanent supportive housing in the EOLs, you have case management, VASH case management.
One of the key tenets of that is knowing who you're serving, knowing that person, looking for risky behaviors, and trying to prevent them before they escalate into something larger. Then there's the community aspect of it, which also speaks to safety and security. Once veterans get to know each other and become members of, you know, their housing community, they oftentimes look out for each other. And they will go and they will notify someone if another veteran is in trouble. That's actually a hallmark of veteran life, is looking out for one another.
So there's those components, all the way up to, you know, if there's behavior that may have been noticed, further investigation by property management. There can be wellness checks made, of course, respecting the rights of those tenants who live in the apartment style buildings. So there's a whole host of, you know, different activities that are going on in order to try to address and prevent issues. We have also previously met with the APD, but could use additional FaceTime now that the safety and security team is functioning unoperational. We had met with them previously, and they gave us information about the scope of some of their not publicized operations where they may have identified illegal activity going on, and they're surveilling or, you know, collecting information in order to, you know, address the issue.
Speaker 2
Mister chairman, before I begin my question, I'd like to ask you and ask consent to enter the plan of action into the record so that the veterans can finally see a VA's action plan after months of waiting.
Speaker 2
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mister Zenner, I'd like to begin with you. Thank you for being here, coming all the way from LA. Thank you, Richard Valdez, good friend of mine. But, mister Zenner, I want to thank you all for the important work you do for veterans in Los Angeles County.
I wanna turn back to VA's use of nondisclosure agreements with non-VA employees. Were you asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement with the VA? Yes. Which senior-level VA officials were in the room for this meeting?
Speaker 16
It was doctor Linda Davis who was leading the meeting, and I believe doctor O'Toole was in there. I don't recall the other leaders. There were also the interim deputy secretary, interim medical center director was also there.
Speaker 2
25. Yeah. Were you given a reason why you needed to sign an NDA? No. How long have you been involved in the West LA project?
Speaker 16
I was a patient on the campus in 2009. And once I graduated from social work school, I became a provider of grant per diem programs for local nonprofits. So from June 2010 until.
Speaker 2
Since 20 o nine. Were you ever asked by VA to sign an NDA before this moment in June 2025?
Speaker 2
Were you offered time for LA County's attorney to review the NDA before you signed it?
Speaker 2
Were you given a copy of the NDA? No. Was it explained to you that the NDA does not cover whistleblower communications or communications with Congress?
Speaker 2
Did VA state that the matters discussed in the meeting were private, not to be discussed with anyone? Yes. Was there anything discussed in the meeting that the NDA covered that should not be public knowledge?
Speaker 2
No. As a veteran who lives in LA and a community leader, how did you feel about the VA making you sign an NDA to participate in meetings pertaining to West LA?
Speaker 16
Yes. It was unprecedented because, really, our success in LA is because we show up at the same table and work together. And that's really kind of the precedent that had been set up to that point. And the reason why we had so many more placements into permanent housing, as well as, you know, reducing the amount of veterans falling into homelessness. So that it was, yeah.
Speaker 2
Well, thank you for that. Mister Senator, on my committee staff's most recent trip to West LA, they were told that there are only five VA police officers on patrol at any one time. Five for a 388-acre, extremely complex campus and neighboring sea box that can literally be hours away in LA traffic. So five for all of that. We heard that officers were pulled from as far away as Long Beach, VA when they can be spared.
West LA's current staffing leaves officers unable to answer all the calls for help they receive. We are approaching a real crisis here, especially as staffing and morale continue to worsen with the impending position downgrades and vacancy cuts across the VA police force. VA, police are notoriously underpaid in comparison to officers at the Santa Monica Police Department or LAPD. ICE has been poaching VA officers with $50,000 recruitment bonuses. Mister Senor, how can we fix the critical security issues at West LA when the VA itself is not adequately investing in its police and security?
Speaker 16
Yeah. Two parts to my answer. One is to increase the budget. I know earlier in the conversation, there has been movement in that direction. GS6 might not be a high enough pay increase.
I would recommend looking at maybe a higher rate for those officers. Considering the point that you make with Santa Monica PD, they make $3.06 figures. So there's a considerable gap. So maybe looking at a study, a salary study in the region, and really kind of putting some concerted effort into making it competitive. And on the second part, really looking at the jurisdictional issues that I mentioned in my testimony earlier.
VHA Directive 730 does not allow sworn deputies, PD VAPD deputies, to be sworn by local jurisdiction, aka the sheriffs, to enforce state and local laws, and that's creating some of the jurisdictional gaps on that campus.
Speaker 2
Yeah. So VA police can't just, they can't do certain things. And by extension, the undersecretary or the assistant secretary mentioned contract security. My understanding is that contract security will also, similarly, have no authority to deal with many of the situations of security on the campus. Is that right?
Speaker 11
Thank you, chairman. You could say Ramírez. Ramírez. I'm just joking. I'm messing with you.
It's been a long day, chairman. Thank you. I appreciate you said it beautifully. You said it beautifully. If any of you heard me in the previous panel, I mentioned how I've spent a number of years running a social service agency in Chicago, a homeless shelter.
So I've worked with a lot of unhoused populations in Chicago. And for me, it's also really important for us to provide wraparound services and stable housing for our unhoused neighbors, including especially our veterans. And we really need to have adequate staffing, infrastructure, case management, the kind of ratios that provide for a case manager to provide comprehensive support services for the veterans, and certainly funding to be able to support and deliver. I wanna talk to you, mister Valdez. First, let me just thank you for your service and your continued commitment to serving the veteran community.
We're deeply grateful and certainly that you are here as a witness today. From your testimony, I understand that DAV Cal plays a critical role in supporting unhoused veterans. So my question for you, Mister Valdez, can you tell me what role DAV Cal has played in the development of housing supports on the West LA campus? And the second part of that question is, can you describe any challenges to progress? Well, I'll leave it there.
Speaker 14
Sure. In answer to that question, in terms of doing work there at the campus, the transportation. However, our involvement with the draft master plan began when I met with the secretary McDonald. Mhmm. There were issues that were raised that were presented to me, and I offered those, DSOs in Los Angeles that when I was in DC, that I would raise these with the secretary and offer a recommendation.
He agreed with the recommendation I presented and asked me to put together a team of VSO leaders to then work with his special assistant on the development of the master plan. So that's basically where we're involved with that particular development in terms of the housing. Mhmm. And all. When that began, I put together a road map of objectives. Mhmm. That were then presented to the special assistant and the contractor for urban planning when that contractor was awarded.
Speaker 11
That's great. And so let me ask you, as part of that road map and recommendations that you put together, what would you say in that road map or recommendations if you had to prioritize two or three things as the most effective in serving our veterans?
Speaker 14
The most effective that I thought was important was that as the homeless, were provided safety, housing, the services that were required, training so that they can reintegrate with society and employment, that I felt that was important because I'd seen before where a veteran would be released, because the services felt that he was or she was prepared to go out and rejoin society, that it was important to provide those individuals who didn't make it.
Speaker 14
To come in at the front of the line instead of the back of the line. Mhmm. Because I felt it was much more important to get them resituated, trained, and then they'd be able to make the choice to return.
Speaker 11
Got it. I'm hearing you say that what you find most effective is housing, safety, wraparound support services, and training. Absolutely. I really appreciate that. So this last question and the last minute I have is for all the witnesses.
And I guess we can start with you, Mr. Zener. What is the greatest challenge the West LA campus faces serving our on-house veterans? And how do you think this challenge can be best resolved? I'll start with you, and then we'll go all the way to Dr. Suhu.
Speaker 16
Yeah. I think, right now, public safety is the biggest issue. Not only am I concerned for veterans on the campus, I'm also deeply concerned for the VA employees and the contract employees that work on that campus. If everyone isn't feeling safe, it's hard to accomplish all the other things that we need to accomplish on that campus.
Speaker 14
Oh, excuse me. Yes. In the road map was safety and training for the males that were on the campus, because there were gonna be women veterans also there. And so they needed to be prepared, hey. Look.
You're not out on the street anymore.
Speaker 11
Thank you. I only have a couple of seconds. I'm gonna go to Miss Banks and Doctor Sulu. Continuity of commitment. Continuity of commitment.
Speaker 15
Say, overarchingly, things have to be systematized in a way that they span decades.
Speaker 15
It's a 99 year commitment for the leases, and it has to continue to function no matter who is in place or what is in place. The budget also has to back up.
Speaker 11
Great. Public safety and training. Thank you so much, chairman. I yield back.
Speaker 17
Thank you, mister chair, and thank you to all our witnesses for coming and joining us today. I'm grateful for this committee's focus on veteran homelessness because we have made historic bipartisan progress getting veterans housed, and our work, as you are talking about, is far from over. I'm committed to ensuring every veteran truly has a place to call home in this country and that they served, and I am hearing the same commitment from you. Our committee staff heard directly from leadership at West Los Angeles last week that they're increasingly relying on the health care for homeless veterans program to provide emergency shelter for veterans experiencing homelessness. As a physician who trained in a VA, I know immediate and accessible care during a crisis can and does save lives.
However, veterans with other than honorable discharges, some of the veterans with the highest health needs, are not eligible for this program. According to the by-name list data, at least 100 veterans experiencing homelessness in LA have other-than-honorable discharges. Not dishonorable, not court-martialed, other than honorable discharge. And these veterans can't access the care they need. Luckily, I have a bill for that.
The Every Veteran House bill would expand eligibility to all VA homeless programs to veterans with other than honorable discharges. These veterans can already access programs like HUD-VASH, and my legislation would create parity so veterans can access the full continuum of housing and supportive services they need. Mister Zenner, if a veteran with an other than honorable discharge seeks placement in a health care for homeless veterans program, what options are available to them today?
Speaker 16
Thank you for the question. And just to repeat, if there could you repeat the question.
Speaker 17
It's not court-martialed. It's not a dishonorable discharge. It is other than honorable discharges. If they come to you, they are not, and I'll just say again, they are not eligible for the health care for homeless veterans program, but they are eligible for things like HUD VASH. And so this lack of continuity is creating barriers for some of the veterans.
And, it's about 100 in West LA do not have access to the health care for homeless veterans program. So I'm just asking if they come, what options do they have?
Speaker 16
Yeah. For veterans with other than honorable, they have the HUD VASH like you mentioned. They also have a grant per DM. The staffing, I I've run very large residential programs in LA in the past, both ACHV and GPD. Mhmm.
GDP funding is very minimal compared to ACHV.
Speaker 16
ACHV allows for a lot of monitor staff that are constantly walking around and monitoring. Mhmm. Veterans in the program, as well as case managers with higher credentialing.
Speaker 17
Okay. Great. And so there's some resources. Just, there's a lack of clarity or continuity, I guess, is the thing that we're trying to address. And, I would also wanna know for National Guard reserves, they are also not eligible for some of these programs.
Is that an issue that you've encountered in LA?
Speaker 16
Yeah. We have the LA Veteran Collaborative where we talk about barriers in the community, and that often comes up as the unmet needs of our national guard and reserve. And so that's where county really comes in and plays as big a part as we possibly can.
Speaker 17
And, mister chair, it is the intent of the bill that we've proposed. It would open up for our veterans, who from the National Guard Reserve, to have the same access. So I also wanna just pivot in the last minute. A major focus of the Center for Wire Independence is veteran self-sufficiency. Many veterans have permanent and total disabilities and live on a fixed income from their VA benefits.
With the cost of housing soaring across this country, many of those veterans will continue to use subsidies to afford rent, and you were just speaking about this. It seems to me that the only real path to self-sufficiency for these folks would be creating housing that's actually affordable, and I'm sure LA is not different than my district in Portland, Oregon. Mister Zener, do you have concerns about this self-sufficiency metric and how it could be implemented?
Speaker 16
Yes. Yeah. We really need to focus on the affordable side. There's a lot of veteran employees of the VA on that campus working on that campus that are GS five, GS seven. They have to travel over two hours to get to work and go back home.
And so we need to look at some workforce housing. Also, for our transitioning service members and their families coming to LA, it's a very difficult place to come into. Yeah. Yet we have hundreds coming back to L.A. That's another opportunity that we should look at.
But, yeah, affordability is really a big issue, EULs are not the complete answer.
Speaker 17
No. Agreed. And, mister chair, I know my time is up, but housing is health care. We are creating more veterans as we speak, and I think we absolutely need to work together. And I look forward to doing that with you in this committee.
Thank you.
Speaker 1
Thank you. The general lady yields back. Ranky Mendano, you have closing remarks.
Speaker 2
I do. I do, thank you. Thank you, mister chairman, and thank you to all of our witnesses who flew in from Los Angeles to be here with us today. So thank you very much. Mister chairman, during this hearing, we received emails from a veteran at West LA who needs help and is facing eviction.
We're trying to troubleshoot this situation in real time from the dais because VA continues to fail this veteran. And as we have demonstrated, OCLA has not been the most responsive to my staff, and I hope to ask the VA witnesses about this, but they are gone. VA must do better. And I hope we can work together to make sure we troubleshoot these sorts of things together. I look forward to VA complying with my request for copies of signed nondisclosure agreements and a list of individuals who signed them by 5 PM today.
I have urged the VA to stop using these NDAs as you have, mister chairman. They seem only to serve as an intimidation tactic, not for serious purposes of protecting sensitive information. Veterans, Congress, and the public deserve transparency so that we can hold VA accountable for its care of those who served. That being said, I'm extremely concerned about the future of the National Soldiers' Home, but stand ready to give VA and its partners the support they need to right the ship. We have the opportunity to do something truly great at West LA and with a National Center for War Independence if executed with full funding, full staffing, and the best interests of veterans in mind.
Ending veteran homelessness is a goal that I truly believe we can achieve, but we have to get this right in Los Angeles. Veterans' lives depend on it. I yield back, sir.
Speaker 1
Gentleman yields back, and I want to thank all the witnesses for joining us here today. You know, this was a very productive. I wish we had had more time. Hopefully, as I promised, we will try to get back to this issue. But I would appreciate, and I appreciate, the health care discussion of what ties West LA to UCLA.
But I still not understanding where the Baseball stadium is a benefit to the veterans to the West LA campus. I'm hoping to get that answered sometime as well. But I do look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, the president, Secretary Collins, to ensure that the leases and contracts principally benefit the veterans on West LA campus like it is supposed to be. As you're concerned that you have about those contracts that say we're not supposed to talk the leases that way. We should have opened.
We have had that discussion. And, again, thank you for being here. And I wanna also say this. I wanna say thank you. This is a national police week, and that doesn't, that's all police, the police in this room, as well as the police on the campus that we can see how important they are to have around.
And I ask unanimous, yeah. One thing.
Speaker 2
Mister chairman, I might suggest, might we do, like, even a full committee or some sort of site hearing, together in West LA.
Speaker 1
We'll check the schedule, see what we can do to that. Yes. I ask unanimous consent that all members shall have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks, including any extraneous material. Hearing no objections. So ordered.
This hearing is now adjourned.
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