Lawmakers Urge Pentagon to Address Military Housing Conditions

The Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on Dec. 26, 2011. (Staff/AFP via Getty Images)

A bipartisan group of lawmakers from both houses of Congress sent a letter to the Department of Defense (DoD) requesting that it address poor living conditions at military bases.

The July 9 letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was signed by three senators and three members of the House of Representatives. The lawmakers cited a recent investigation by the Project on Government Oversight, which indicated that many families who live in private housing on and off base are exposed to unsafe conditions.

The report found that unsafe and unsanitary conditions, including toxic mold, were found in military housing, and those living in such homes had few options to hold accountable the private companies that own the homes.

According to the letter, the “DoD is trapped by long-standing, substandard agreements with private companies,” and those contracts contain provisions that make termination of the agreements almost impossible.

The contracts also allow the companies providing the housing some level of exemption from tenant rights and consumer protection laws, the letter states.

Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), and Del. James Moylan (R-Guam) joined Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass. ), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, in criticizing the DoD for allegedly “failing to protect military families residing in privately owned housing.”

“The stress and uncertainty that military families face with the multiple moves and transitions between locations and assignments that the military requires is amplified and worsened by systemic housing problems,” wrote the lawmakers. “Military families should not lose their right to a safe, healthy home, or the ability to seek redress, simply because they live on-base.”

A DoD spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that, “As with all Congressional correspondence, the Department will respond directly to the Members.”

During an April 9 hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mr. Austin didn’t answer questions about privatized housing directly but said the 2025 military budget included funds for housing oversight.

The defense secretary noted that the Pentagon wants $1.1 billion to build new barracks, $2 billion to build and maintain government-run family housing, and $171 million to conduct oversight into family housing.

While being questioned about the Defense Department budget requests, Mr. Austin told the committee, “We have to make sure that we invest in the resources required to supervise the maintenance of these facilities, and we’re doing both of those.

“There’s a lot of work we need to do going forward, and we’re investing in the right things, and we'll continue to keep maintaining emphasis on this.”