Readiness Chairman Garamendi's Statement on Hearing Regarding Privatized Military Family Housing

Statement

Today, Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA), Chairman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, issued the following statement after concluding a hearing on privatized military family housing:

"This February, the Readiness Subcommittee heard from a panel of courageous military spouses who told us of the unhealthy and unsanitary living conditions they experienced in privatized military family housing. As Chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee, I led a Congressional Delegation to study this issue firsthand at military installations throughout the country. What we found was appalling--service members and their families are forced to live in unsafe and unhealthy environments. After hearing from military families and touring these facilities, we included language in the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to establish a "tenants' bill of rights' to hold private housing contractors accountable for developing safe on-base housing for service members and their families," Garamendi said.

"Today, the Readiness Subcommittee heard from five of the private military housing partners to learn their plans to bring on-base family housing back to the level our military families deserve. While it's clear that these companies have been working to improve conditions, I am still hearing regularly from military families living in these unconscionable conditions. The Readiness Subcommittee will not rest until this issue is resolved and every military family receives quality, safe on-base housing," Garamendi concluded.

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