VETERANS -- WHITE HOUSE ISSUES VETO THREAT ON BIPARTISAN HOUSING BILL FOR LOW-INCOME VETS: The White House Office of Management and Budget issued a veto threat yesterday against the Homes for Heroes Act, which would provide housing assistance for low-income veterans. The bill, introduced by Rep. Al Green (D-TX), passed 412-9 in the House Wednesday; a Senate companion bill introduced by Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has 10 sponsors. The act authorizes $200 million for veterans' housing and support services, requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide at least 10,000 rental vouchers a year available for homeless veterans as well as a comprehensive report on homeless veterans to be made each year. The Statement of Administration Policy released yesterday stated that the White House opposes provisions requiring that builders of veterans' housing pay prevailing wage and that Bush's "Senior Advisors would recommend that he veto" the bill. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that nearly 200,000 veterans are homeless on any given night and that veterans make up 23 percent of all homeless people in America.