Our servicemembers and their families sacrifice so much to serve our country, and it's unconscionable that their health and safety would be at risk in their own homes. I have heard horror stories from constituents about their military housing and as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I have taken military housing operators to task on their failures. I will continue fighting to ensure that military housing meets the standard we expect for our servicemembers. This is not only a health issue, but one of mission readiness and morale, and we have to do better.

Congress needs to take a good, hard look at these contracts and contracting companies – many of which I have no confidence are providing the service needed to address what families at multiple installations have described to me as infestations of rodents and roaches and exposure to mold, asbestos, and an array of chemicals," said Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) chair of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee. "Cleary, San Diego needs to be added to the list of locations that needs scrutiny. This is a national crisis that directly impacts morale and readiness and that poses a serious threat to the security of our country. No more excuses DoD—we need to figure this out and fix it, now!

The Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) is a valuable program that has improved the overall quality of military housing compared to the DoD-managed housing of the last century. Beginning in 2017, LMH undertook a holistic review of our policies and procedures to explore how we could improve. We identified, developed, and implemented several reforms, and many of those reforms have been implemented, including a three-step process for dispute resolution and an industry-leading mold management program. LMH is in the process of making further reforms, a number of which are being developed and implemented with our service branch partners consistent with the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act. Together with DoD, LMH is working as expeditiously as possible to put structure around the dozens of complex provisions in the privatized housing section of the NDAA, to include those contained in the Tenant's Bill of Rights, which we fully support. LMH has always welcomed congressional members to visit our communities and see firsthand the improvements being made through our joint efforts, and while we have work to do, we do hope that Congresswoman Jacobs and Speier will take some time to come and see the progress from the recent legislation that they have championed.