美国国家公共电台 NPR--Homeless veterans in Los Angeles sue the VA over promised housing

Homeless veterans in Los Angeles sue the VA over promised housing

Transcript¹

The group is suing the Department of Veterans Affairs for failing to build affordable² housing. The suit claims the VA hasn't lived up to a 2011 agreement to house veterans.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Los Angeles County has long had the country's highest number of homeless military veterans - nearly 4,000 by last count. And last night, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs was hit with a lawsuit³ by a group of them who say the VA is depriving them of housing. Anna Scott from member station KCRW reports.

ANNA SCOTT, BYLINE⁴: For as long as he can remember, Josh Petitt wanted to join the military, like his dad who served in the Marine⁵ Corps⁶ and the Army.

JOSH PETITT: When I was about 8 years old, I remember I watched him jump out of a helicopter. You know, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. And yeah, it was one of the main reasons I joined the Army.

SCOTT: Was the experience what you expected once you got in?

PETITT: For the most part. War wasn't what I thought it was going to be like. That was - yeah. I don't know.

SCOTT: Petitt served as an infantry⁷ soldier in the Iraq War. He was awarded three Purple Hearts. And after returning stateside, he struggled with PTSD that led to drug addiction⁸.

PETITT: I'd never done methamphetamines till I got back from Iraq. I wouldn't have to sleep, and no sleep means no nightmares. So I thought I found the cure.

SCOTT: We're speaking on a bench outside the homeless shelter where Petitt lives right now on what's known as the West Los Angeles VA. That's a huge medical campus, almost half the size of Central Park. Petitt believes he should be living on this campus in a real apartment, which is why he's now one of 13 disabled homeless veterans suing VA Secretary Denis McDonough and the VA director in charge of this property.

And this lawsuit is basically a do-over of a case filed in 2011, which hinged on how the government came to own this campus that I'm standing⁹ on more than a century ago. It was donated by a wealthy widow on the condition that the property serve as a home for veterans. The 2011 case alleged¹⁰ that the VA had failed in that obligation. And a few years later, the VA agreed to build 1,200 apartments here for needy¹¹ veterans. But looking around, they've only completed a tiny fraction, and this campus still looks a lot like it did seven years ago. There's a hospital, various medical facilities and lots of empty open lawns and some stuff that has nothing to do with veterans at all, like sports facilities for nearby schools.

MARK ROSENBAUM: We trusted the government to come through, and that turned out to be a grievous error.

SCOTT: Attorney Mark Rosenbaum with Public Counsel worked on that older lawsuit and says the only recourse is to sue again. So he has. The VA couldn't give an immediate¹² response to the lawsuit, but in interviews earlier this year, VA officials have pointed¹³ out that they are building the housing. Construction is going on; it's just behind schedule. Why so slow? One reason is money. The VA says it can't pay for the housing because it's a health care agency. Here's the VA director in charge at the West LA campus, Dr. Steven Braverman, in April.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

STEVEN BRAVERMAN: Because of the laws that we have in our country, VA is not allowed to build housing unless it is specifically tied to a treatment program.

SCOTT: So cobbling together the money for this enormous project falls to a team of private developers brought in by the VA. That takes time. But Mark Rosenbaum, the lawyer, rejects those excuses.

ROSENBAUM: That's not just inhumane, and it's not just immoral¹⁴, and it's not just a set of [expletive] lies. It's also against the law.

SCOTT: The new lawsuit asks the court to force the VA to improve housing access for LA's neediest veterans quickly because, it argues, for disabled veterans who see doctors at the West LA VA in one of LA's highest-rent areas, not being able to live on or near the property means they don't get health care.

For NPR News, I'm Anna Scott in Los Angeles.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

3 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

7 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

8 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

11 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

14 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。