Dear neighbor, 

This week we celebrated another milestone at the West Los Angeles VA in our ongoing fight to provide housing for all veterans. I was thrilled to deliver remarks at the grand opening of Buildings 205 and 208, two brand-new supportive housing opportunities for unhoused and at-risk veterans and their families. These buildings will provide 120 comfortable and safe units for unhoused veterans. 

Congressman Lieu delivers remarks at the West LA VA on Tuesday. He was joined by VA Secretary Denis McDonough and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. 

Buildings 205 and 208 join Building 207, which opened in February, in providing supportive housing for our community’s veterans. In March, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) also announced three new lease agreements for the construction of 264 additional permanent housing units on the West LA VA campus which are anticipated to open in 2024 and 2025. I am so pleased to see all the hard work of community leaders, activists, and our veterans come to fruition in these amazing developments. These new housing opportunities were made possible through the West Los Angeles Leasing Act, which I co-authored with Senator Feinstein in 2016. This is a great step in the right direction, but I know there is always more work to be done to get each of our nation’s veterans in reliable, stable housing. If you or a loved one is interested in learning more about housing for veterans at the West LA VA, please click here. 

Building 208 on opening day. 

While this was an exciting week of progress for the West Los Angeles VA, I’m deeply concerned about how Speaker McCarthy’s draconian budget proposal will harm veterans. While my Democratic colleagues and I strongly support measures such as the PACT Act, which provides more than $350 million for housing developments at the West LA VA, House Republicans have passed drastic cuts to the annual funding on which families and veterans depend.  

The Republicans’ disastrous plan would claw back $2 billion from veterans’ programs, putting veteran health and wellbeing at immediate risk. It would leave the VA underfunded, limiting the agency’s ability to provide health care services for veterans and curtailing the improvements that the VA has made in reducing the backlog of veterans’ claims and appeals that grew because of the pandemic.

Beyond these threats to the VA, the extreme MAGA budget proposal would also rip away funding from critical programs our veterans rely on, including the Costs of War Toxic Exposures Fund which supports veterans who have been exposed to toxic substances in combat zones, Housing Choice Vouchers, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and job training programs. While extreme MAGA Republicans have threatened cuts to these crucial programs for our heroic veterans, House Democrats are committed to ensuring each veteran gets the care and compassion they deserve. 

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: It was an honor to host Secretary McDonough and Mayor Bass in our community this week to celebrate the grand opening of Buildings 205 and 208! I’m looking forward to our continued work to provide safe, stable housing for all of our nation’s veterans. 

Here’s what else I did during this busy week of district work: 

• Published an op-ed in the Daily Breeze about the history of my work on veteran homelessness and expanding housing opportunities at the West LA VA.  
• Celebrated the start of Small Business Week! Our district is home to many wonderful small businesses, which are the engine that powers our economy.  
• Visited our very own national champions, the UCLA women’s soccer team! I can’t wait to watch the upcoming season. 
• Stopped by the new Armenian Genocide memorial at Rolling Hills Estates City Hall. I’m proud to be an advocate for Armenian Genocide education in Congress and remain committed to supporting the Armenian American community in Los Angeles County and across the country.

YOUTH ADVISORY COUNCIL TOWN HALL: I'm happy to invite you to our Youth Town Hall next Saturday, May 13 at Da Vinci Schools in El Segundo! Young leaders from our community will share updates on our Youth Advisory Council's work over the past year. To RSVP, click here.

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE...If you’re planning international travel, don’t forget to check your passport’s expiration date! Passports that will expire within a year should be updated. Please reach out to my Los Angeles office if you or your family need assistance with passport renewal. 

My office has been responding to an increased number of requests for passport assistance. Due to a higher volume of requests across the country, standard passport processing times are now 10 to 13 weeks, while expedited processing time has risen to seven to nine weeks. If you need to apply for a new passport in person, please click here. If you have a passport that will expire within six months and need to renew it via mail, or if you need to correct or change your current passport, please click here. If you’ve already applied for a new or renewed passport and would like to check the status of your request, please click here.  

For more information on my work in Congress, please visit my website at lieu.house.gov and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have any questions or concerns, please call my D.C. office at (202) 225-3976 or my Los Angeles district office at (323) 651-1040.   

I look forward to updating you again soon.  

Sincerely, 

Ted W. Lieu

Member of Congress