Vermont's congressional delegation – Sen. Patrick Leahy, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch – today announced $153,000 in federal funds to provide permanent housing and support services to 25 homeless Vermont veterans.

The funds will bring 25 Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers to Vermont to cover the cost of qualifying rental apartments for homeless veterans. The vouchers will allow veterans to move from homelessness or temporary shelter into more permanent housing. Today's announcement brings the total number of VASH vouchers in Vermont to 120.

Sen. Patrick Leahy said, "We train our men and women for service and supply them during conflict, and we owe them our continuing support when they return home."

"This assistance provides badly-needed housing for homeless veterans in Vermont. It is a national disgrace that one-sixth of the 650,000 Americans who are homeless on any given night are veterans," said Sanders, a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. "This is a step forward, but clearly more must be done to support the men and women who served this nation bravely and honorably."

Welch, one of the leaders in the House pushing for an increase in VASH vouchers to meet demand, said, "This assistance will make an incredible difference in the lives of Vermont veterans who have fallen on hard times. These brave men and women have stepped forward and put their lives on the line to defend our country and they deserve our full support."

Today's announcement is part of a $72.6 million nationwide push to provide permanent housing for more than 10,000 homeless veterans.