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

Washington, DC—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.