The MReport Webcast: Tuesday 6/9/2015

Representative Steve Israel, a Democrat from New York and Representative Tim Murphy, a Republican from Pennsylvania have introduced bipartisan legislation to help improve efforts to end homelessness among our nation’s veterans. The Homeless Veterans Assistance Fund Act of 2015 will introduce the Homeless Veterans Assistance Fund that will allow taxpayers a chance to help keep nearly 50,000 veterans off the streets by making an optional contribution to the fund on their federal income tax return form if this legislation is passed.

HUD estimated in a 2014 report that 49,933 veterans are homeless on any given night in the United States, including more than 2,500 veterans in New York, the congressmen said. Veteran homelessness has dropped by 10 percent since 2013. Of homeless adults, 11 percent are veterans, but in New York, which has the fourth largest number of veterans in the country, only 5 percent of homeless adults are veterans.

Amidst the positive May job reports from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, consumer attitudes concerning the housing market showed vast improvement for the month of May, according to results from Fannie Mae's May 2015 National Housing Survey. These positive changes also support the case for an increase in housing activity this year. Of those surveyed, 66 percent say it is a good time to buy a house, while those who say it is a good time to sell went up to a new survey high of 49 percent.