Reps. Sara Jacobs, Stephanie Bice Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Ensure Safe, High-Quality Private Military Housing
Representatives Sara Jacobs (CA-51) and Stephanie Bice (OK-05) reintroduced bipartisan legislation today to ensure oversight and accountability of privatized military housing to guarantee it’s safe and high-quality for service members and military families. The Military Housing Readiness Council Act would create a council to monitor the Department of Defense’s implementation of the tenants’ bill of rights and creation of a public complaint database and publicly report on all its activities.
Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) introduced the companion legislation in the Senate. The Military Housing Readiness Council Act also passed in the House and Senate versions of the NDAA.
“Our service members and military families have sacrificed so much for all of us – and they’ve earned a safe place to sleep, live, and raise their families,” said Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, Member of the House Armed Services Committee Quality of Life Panel. “But I’ve heard too many horror stories and have seen for myself the private military housing that’s infested with mice, ridden with mold, has windows that won’t close or electric panels that aren’t up to code. Poor and unsafe housing worsens the health of our service members and their families and impacts our ability to recruit and retain the best and brightest and protect our military readiness. That’s why I’m proud to lead the bipartisan Military Housing Readiness Council Act to help us conduct much-needed oversight and accountability of private military housing and ensure that it’s safe and high-quality.”
Congresswoman Stephanie Bice said, “Supporting our servicemembers is a key priority of mine. This is why I am proud to co-lead the Military Housing Readiness Council Act, which will provide oversight and transparency for military housing. It is our duty to ensure that those who have selflessly dedicated their lives to our nation have safe, secure, and accessible housing. While conditions have improved at Tinker AFB there are still numerous issues that we must address both in Oklahoma and across the country.”
The Military Housing Readiness Council Act would:
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Provide Enhanced Oversight
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Reviews and makes recommendations to the Secretary of Defense regarding policies for privatized military housing, including inspection practices, resident surveys, landlord payment of medical bills for residents of housing units that have not maintained minimum standards of habitability, and access to maintenance work order systems.
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Monitors the Department of Defense’s compliance with and implementation of statutory improvements to policies for privatized military housing, including the Military Housing Privatization Initiative Tenant Bill of Rights and the public military housing complaint database.
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Regularly Engage Stakeholders
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Draws membership from the Department of Defense, every military service, officer and enlisted service members, spouses of officers and enlisted members, a representative of the International Code Council, a representative of the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification, and other members to be selected by the chairs and ranking members of the armed services committees.
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Requires the Council to meet no fewer than four times a year.
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Makes additional recommendations to improve collaboration, awareness, and promotion of accurate and timely information about privatized military housing, including accommodations available through the Exceptional Family Member Program.
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Provide Transparency
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Requires annual reporting to the Secretary and the congressional defense committees on the Council’s activities, including analyses of complaints of tenants of housing units, data received on maintenance response time and completion of maintenance requests, assessments of dispute resolution processes, assessments of housing inspections, and any survey results conducted by the Council.
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