WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), along with Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris (both D-CA) and U.S. Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Elaine Luria (D-VA), Mike Levin (D-CA), Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Katie Hill (D-CA), sent a letter today to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, urging them to protect vital military housing protections for servicemembers as the Senate and House work to negotiate the final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Once approved by both chambers of Congress, this bill would authorize the nation’s defense spending for the 2020 fiscal year, which begins on October 1, 2019. 

“We write today to express our strong support for language reforming the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI), which was included in both the Senate- and House passed versions of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Provisions of each bill largely match what was in our own bill, the Ensuring Safe Housing for our Military Act (S.703/H.R.1792), which aimed to force much needed change in the MHPI program,” wrote the members of Congress.

In 1996, the Department of Defense (DoD) and Congress established the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) with the intent to improve military housing conditions by transferring maintenance and construction responsibilities to private housing companies. However, recent reports by Reuters and military advocacy groups exposed health, safety, and environmental hazards in privatized military housing throughout the United States. As a result of these findings, Sens. Warner, Kaine, Feinstein, and Harris introduced the Ensuring Safe Housing for our Military Act to provide much-needed reform and oversight over the privatized housing companies. Reps. Levin, Hill, Spanberger, Luria, and Fitzpatrick introduced a companion bill in the House.

They continued, “Like you, we have been appalled by the barrage of health, safety and environmental hazards found in privatized military housing. For too long, the companies operating this housing have failed to properly remedy hazards and to meet their fundamental obligations to servicemembers and their families to provide safe, healthy and high-quality housing. In addition, the military services, including installation commanders, housing officials and senior officials within the Department of Defense (DoD), have not provided sufficient oversight of the housing within their purview and have fundamentally failed the families who served under them.”

In June and July, the Senate and House passed the NDAA with key provisions of the Ensuring Safe Housing for our Military Act. In today’s letter, the members of Congress urged the Chairmen and the Ranking Members to protect these House and Senate provisions in final negotiations between the House and the Senate. 

A copy of today’s letter is available here can be found below.

August 8, 2019

Senator James M. Inhofe

Chairman

Committee on Armed Services

United States Senate

Senator Jack Reed

Ranking Member

Committee on Armed Services

United States Senate

Congressman Adam Smith

Chairman

Committee on Armed Services

U.S. House of Representatives

Congressman Mac Thornberry

Ranking Member

Committee on Armed Services

U.S. House of Representatives

Dear Chairmen Inhofe & Smith and Ranking Members Reed & Thornberry:

We write today to express our strong support for language reforming the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI), which was included in both the Senate- and House passed versions of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Provisions of each bill largely match what was in our own bill, the Ensuring Safe Housing for our Military Act (S.703/H.R.1792), which aimed to force much needed change in the MHPI program. 

Like you, we have been appalled by the barrage of health, safety and environmental hazards found in privatized military housing. For too long, the companies operating this housing have failed to properly remedy hazards and to meet their fundamental obligations to servicemembers and their families to provide safe, healthy and high-quality housing. In addition, the military services, including installation commanders, housing officials and senior officials within the Department of Defense (DoD), have not provided sufficient oversight of the housing within their purview and have fundamentally failed the families who served under them.

As you enter conference negotiations, we ask that provisions from the Ensuring Safe Housing for Our Military Act remain in the final NDAA conference agreement. In particular we were pleased that the Senate version of the NDAA:

• creates a standard for common credentials for health and environmental inspectors of privatized military housing (Sec. 3018);

• requires the commander to review and approve mold mitigation and pest control plans annually (Sec. 3043, 2872c);

• enables the withholding of rents (Sec. 3031) and incentive fees (Sec. 3045, 2874c) from landlords if they have not met established guidelines and procedures;

• requires landlords to pay reasonable relocation costs in the event of health, safety or environmental hazards (Sec. 3044, 2872d);

• requires the establishment of electronic work order systems and requires that tenants have the ability to access the systems in order to track the status and progress of work orders (Sec. 3021); and   

• requires the Secretary of Defense to submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the legal services that the Secretary may provide to members of the armed forces who have been harmed by a health or environmental hazard while living in military housing, as well as to make this information available to all members of the armed forces at U.S. DoD installations. (Sec. 3053).

In addition, the House-passed NDAA includes additional provisions of the Ensuring Safe Housing for Our Military Act, and we ask you to retain:

Sections 2811 and 2886, which authorizes DoD Inspectors General to investigate allegations of retaliation against a military tenant in connection with a housing complaint; and

 Section 2811 and 2886c, which prohibit landlords from imposing supplemental payments in addition to rent.

Reforming the privatized military housing system requires urgent action, and we believe including the above provisions in the final FY2020 NDAA is vital to that effort. We appreciate your leadership on this important issue and look forward to continuing to work together to improve the housing stock available to our servicemembers and their families. 

Sincerely,

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