House Sends Andrew Connolly Veterans' Housing Act to President's Desk

Braley-authored bill extends & expands disabled vets housing program for 10 years

Washington, D.C. - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) announced that the Andrew Connolly Veterans' Housing Act was passed overwhelmingly by the US House today.  The legislation, authored by Braley last year, will extend for ten years a Veterans' Administration adaptive housing grant program that helps injured and disabled veterans retrofit their homes to make them more disability-accessible.

Without this legislation, included as part of the Honoring American Veterans Act of 2011, the adaptive housing project would have expired at the end of 2012.

"Meeting Andrew, Jenny and Brody Connolly will always be one of the highlights of my life," Braley said.  "They inspired me, the people of Dubuque and members of both parties in Congress to do more to help one another.  Andrew would have turned 29 this week and I can think of no more fitting tribute to his memory than this bill being signed into law."

The Andrew Connolly Veterans' Housing Act is named after the late Andrew Connolly of Dubuque - an Iowa Army National Guardsman who returned from a tour of duty in Iraq with a tumor in his spine. With Braley's help, Connolly was able to get a grant that allowed him to move into a wheelchair-accessible home until his untimely death in August 2011.  Connolly became an advocate for expanding the program, despite his failing health.

The bill will extend the adaptive housing grant program for disabled veterans for ten years, through Dec. 31^st, 2022.  The legislation also increases the adaptive housing grant limit for temporary housing to $28,000, and increases the total adaptive housing grant limit from $63,780 to $91,780, revising current law to exclude the temporary residence adaptation grant from counting towards the total grant amount.