Hudson Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Improve Military Housing
May 17, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 17, 2019
Hudson Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Improve Military Housing
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC), Fort Bragg’s Congressman and a voice for our military community, released the following statement after introducing bipartisan, bicameral legislation to improve the quality of military housing:
“I was outraged when I learned of poor housing conditions on our military bases – including Fort Bragg,” said Rep. Hudson. “It is completely unacceptable for our service members and their families to have anything less than high-quality, safe homes. This legislation improves oversight and brings much-needed transparency and accountability, and it’s a step in the right direction to make things right for military families.”
Rep. Hudson has been in close contact with leaders at Fort Bragg and the Department of Defense, and he continues to work closely with stakeholders to hold those accountable and fix this problem. He has toured military homes and engaged with many military families across the installation to make sure this legislation addresses their needs. He introduced this legislation today with Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA.), and U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
“Every family deserves a safe place to call home, especially our servicemembers and their families who sacrifice every day to serve this country,” said Sen. Cortez Masto. “It’s unacceptable that military families are faced with living in poorly maintained housing, or newly constructed homes that are unsafe. I’m proud to introduce legislation to bring much needed reform and oversight to the privatized military housing industry and ensure that our military families have the support they need to thrive.”
“It is our duty to make sure that those who serve and sacrifice, including servicemembers and their family members, have safe, clean, and well-maintained housing,” said Rep. Panetta. “Our bipartisan legislation will improve oversight of privatized military housing provided by the Department of Defense, and increase transparency and communication for military families.”
Rep. John Carter (R-TX), Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD), Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Rep. Denny Heck (D-WA), Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Rep. Van Taylor (R-TX), and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) are also cosponsors of the legislation.
The Better Military Housing Act of 2019 has the support of representatives from the districts that house four out of the five largest military instillations in the contiguous U.S. This legislation will increase the Department of Defense’s oversight of privatized housing contracts and ensure military families have access to the support they need when reporting housing issues to superiors. The Better Military Housing Act of 2019 would increase the Department of Defense’s oversight of the health, safety and quality of privatized military housing by improving military housing contracts, establishing standard metrics for evaluating housing safety and quality, and ensuring military families have the support and accountability they need to report housing issues to military leadership. The legislation also calls for a study on long-term solutions to improve privatized military housing contracts.
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Issues:Defense & National Security