U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) introduced the Ensuring Safe Housing for our Military Act, a bill to address health, safety and environmental hazards in private contractor-provided military housing.

The legislation is in response to a recent Reuters investigation that found hazardous living conditions in privatized military housing throughout the United States, including service members and their families living in homes with persistent mold blooms, water leaks and rodent and insect infestations.

“Service members shouldn’t have to worry about the health and safety of their families while protecting our country,” Feinstein said. “Unfortunately, many living in private miliary housing are dealing with hazardous conditions with little or no recourse. Our legislation would fix that. It would withhold rent from contractors until hazards are properly fixed under the terms of their contract, require military officials to ensure all private housing is up to code and empower service members to leave any home that is unsafe without fear of financial penalty.”

The Reuters investigation and military advocacy groups report that the companies that operate military housing are often non-responsive, provide only superficial fixes or blame the service member for the problems. In some instances, service members have been charged fees associated with the remediation of their own homes, including fees for leaving homes with persistent hazards. A recent survey conducted by the Military Family Advisory Network showed that more than 55 percent of respondents had a negative or very negative experience with privatized military housing.

The legislation would create stronger oversight mechanisms, allow the military to withhold payments to contractors until issues are resolved and prohibit contractors from charging certain fees. It would also require the military to withhold incentive fees from poorly performing contractors.

The bill is supported by the Military Officers Association of America and National Military Family Association.