Kaine, Colleagues Urge DOD to Address Concerns About Privatized Military Housing Conditions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers in urging the Department of Defense (DOD) to address concerns about unsafe conditions in privatized military housing. The letter follows a recent investigation that found many military families living in private housing, both on and off-base, are still being forced to live in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, including housing with toxic mold, and that these families face challenges holding companies accountable for poor conditions.

“For years, we have raised concerns about problems in privatized military housing,” wrote the lawmakers. “As POGO’s investigation makes clear, poor housing conditions for military families persist.”

“Because the private companies operating in the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) are not being held accountable for their failures, DOD and Congress must step in to protect these families,” the lawmakers continued.

In the letter, the lawmakers urge DOD to take action to better support military families and request DOD provides information regarding how DOD enters into housing agreements, whether hazardous conditions violate existing agreements, and how DOD conducts oversight on the private housing companies by July 30, 2024.

In addition to Kaine, the letter is cosigned by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Representatives Sara Jacobs (D-CA-51), James C. Moylan (R-Guam-At Large), and Ro Khanna (D-CA-17).

As a member of SASC, Kaine has long worked to ensure servicemembers and their families have access to safe, affordable housing. Following reports of dangerous and unsafe conditions at privatized military housing in Virginia and across the country, Kaine successfully pushed to pass reforms in the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act to improve housing conditions for military families. In December 2023, Kaine sent a letter requesting information on DOD’s plans to implement housing reforms and address substandard housing conditions for military families.

Full text of the letter is available here.

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