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Legislation sponsored by Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) and Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-15) to improve military families’ ability to compare housing options and identify subpar living conditions was approved yesterday by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Military Housing Transparency and Accountability Act was included in this year’s annual defense policy legislation that was finalized this week and is expected to become law by the end of the month.

"Our servicemembers – who sacrifice so much to protect our country – deserve reliable and safe housing for themselves and their families. However, too often I hear stories of military housing not meeting those standards," Rep. Carbajal said. “As a veteran, I’m proud to see this bipartisan solution to improve housing conditions and accountability on its way to becoming law. By providing a way for servicemembers to see and compare housing options, and to report issues and hazards in real-time, we can improve housing conditions for every military family."

“As an Army dad, I know first-hand the challenges our service men and women face when finding safe and comfortable housing,” Rep. Thompson said. “They should feel confident if an issue arises it will be resolved in a timely manner. Adoption of this provision is a step in the right direction and will improve transparency and oversight. I thank my friend Salud Carbajal for his partnership in making this happen.” 

For several years, military housing has been plagued with widespread complaints of neglect and unsafe conditions such as mold, lead-based paint, asbestos, poor water quality and sewage, and careless repairs.

To address the lack of information servicemembers have on military housing, Congress previously directed the Secretary of Defense to develop a centralized assessment tool for members of the Armed Forces and their family members to identify, rate, and compare housing options.

While a step in the right direction to improve the living conditions for servicemembers and their families, it did not cover all military housing and provided little oversight requirements. Additionally, the Department of Defense has yet to implement this tool.

The Military Housing Transparency and Accountability Act, introduced by Carbajal and Thompson in May 2023, will expand access to the tool, upon implementation, to all servicemembers and their dependents, as well as enhance the reporting requirements to ensure accountability.

The bill will also enable servicemembers to report issues in real-time and find swift resolutions to inadequate conditions.