II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5520 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to improve the provision of military 

housing to members of the Armed Forces and their families through 

private entities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 12, 2024 

Ms. WARREN (for herself, Mr. BROWN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Ms. 

DUCKWORTH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to improve the 

provision of military housing to members of the Armed 

Forces and their families through private entities, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Housing Over5 sight and Service Member Protection Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF OVERSIGHT OF PRIVATIZED 

2 MILITARY HOUSING. 

3 (a) OVERSIGHT OF CONTRACTS AND HOUSING

4 UNITS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter IV of chapter 

6 169 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by 

7 adding at the end the following new section: 

8 ‘‘§ 2885a. Oversight of contracts and housing units 

9 ‘‘(a) OVERSIGHT OF CONTRACTS.—(1) The Secretary 

10 of Defense shall establish formal written requirements and 

11 guidance for entering into and renewing contracts under 

12 this subchapter. 

13 ‘‘(2) The Secretary— 

14 ‘‘(A) shall rescind a contract under this sub15 chapter if the other party to the contract, based on 

16 credible evidence, fails to cure a material breach of 

17 such contract committed by such party within 90 

18 days; and 

19 ‘‘(B) shall not permit the other party to a con20 tract rescinded under subparagraph (A) to enter into 

21 new contracts with the Secretary or undertake ex22 pansions under existing contracts with the Sec23 retary. 

24 ‘‘(3) The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with 

25 the Secretary concerned, shall adopt a formal written con26 tingency plan for the management of housing units in the 


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1 event that a contract relating to those housing units is 

2 rescinded under paragraph (2)(A). 

3 ‘‘(b) HOUSING OFFICE EMPLOYEES.—The Secretary 

4 of Defense shall ensure that each housing office at a mili5 tary installation consists only of employees of the military 

6 department concerned. 

7 ‘‘(c) INSPECTIONS OF HOUSING UNITS.—(1) The 

8 Secretary of Defense shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) provide for the conduct of regular building 

10 code and health inspections of housing units, con11 sistent with industry standards, which shall include, 

12 at a minimum, inspection during and after any new 

13 construction or renovation of a housing unit; 

14 ‘‘(B) employ a sufficient number of independent 

15 housing inspectors with all appropriate State and 

16 local inspection certifications to conduct inspections 

17 under subparagraph (A) without notice to landlords; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(C) provide appropriate oversight to ensure 

20 that all maintenance for such housing units is com21 pleted in accordance with all applicable Federal, 

22 State, and local health and building codes. 

23 ‘‘(2)(A) In providing for the conduct of inspections 

24 of housing units under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary 


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1 shall permit State and local housing inspectors to conduct 

2 inspections of such units without notice to landlords. 

3 ‘‘(B) Not less frequently than annually, the Secretary 

4 shall notify State and local housing inspectors that they 

5 are permitted on a military installation to conduct inspec6 tions under subparagraph (A). 

7 ‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘independent hous8 ing inspector’ means a housing inspector that is not an 

9 employee of the landlord of the housing unit being in10 spected, including any subsidiary of the landlord.’’. 

11 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec12 tions at the beginning of such subchapter is amend13 ed by inserting after the item relating to section 

14 2885 the following new item: 

‘‘2885a. Oversight of contracts and housing units.’’. 

15 (b) TREATMENT OF HOUSING LAWS.—Section 2890 

16 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following 

17 new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(g) TREATMENT OF HOUSING LAWS.—Notwith19 standing any other provision of law, all Federal, State, 

20 and local housing protections that would otherwise apply 

21 to an individual located in a jurisdiction surrounding a 

22 military installation in the United States, including stand23 ards relating to habitability and defenses to eviction, shall 

24 apply to an individual residing in a housing unit that is 

25 located on a military installation.’’. 


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1 (c) IMPROVEMENT OF FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY.— 

2 Section 2891c of such title is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by adding at the end 

4 the following new subparagraph: 

5 ‘‘(G) Financial statements equivalent to a 10– 

6 K (or successor form) for— 

7 ‘‘(i) the landlord; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) each contract entered into between 

9 the landlord and the Department of Defense 

10 under this subchapter.’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub12 section: 

13 ‘‘(c) PUBLICATION OF FINANCIAL DETAILS.—(1) 

14 Not less frequently than annually, the Secretary Defense 

15 shall publish in the Federal Register the financial details 

16 of each contract for the management of housing units. 

17 ‘‘(2) Not later than 15 days after receiving financial 

18 statements under subsection (a)(2)(G), the Secretary shall 

19 publish on a publicly available website of the Department 

20 of Defense those financial statements.’’. 

21 (d) APPROVAL OF COMPLETED WORK.—Section 

22 2892 of such title is amended by adding at the end the 

23 following new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(d) APPROVAL OF COMPLETED WORK.—A landlord 

25 of a housing unit may not indicate on the maintenance 


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1 work order system of the landlord that maintenance work 

2 was completed until an independent inspector approves the 

3 completion of the maintenance work in writing.’’. 

4 (e) SCREENING AND REGISTRY OF INDIVIDUALS

5 WITH HEALTH CONDITIONS RESULTING FROM UNSAFE

6 HOUSING UNITS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter V of chapter 

8 169 of such title is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following new section: 

10 ‘‘§ 2895. Screening and registry of individuals with 

11 health conditions resulting from unsafe 

12 housing units 

13 ‘‘(a) SCREENING.—(1) The Secretary of Defense, in 

14 consultation with appropriate scientific entities as deter15 mined by the Secretary, shall ensure that all military med16 ical treatment facilities screen eligible individuals for cov17 ered conditions. 

18 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may establish procedures through 

19 which screening under paragraph (1) will allow an eligible 

20 individual to be included in the registry under subsection 

21 (b). 

22 ‘‘(b) REGISTRY.—(1) The Secretary of Defense shall 

23 establish and maintain a registry of eligible individuals 

24 who have a covered condition. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall include any information in 

2 the registry under paragraph (1) that the Secretary deter3 mines necessary to ascertain and monitor the health of 

4 eligible individuals and the connection between the health 

5 of such individuals and an unsafe housing unit. 

6 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall develop a public information 

7 campaign to inform eligible individuals about the registry 

8 under paragraph (1), including how to register and the 

9 benefits of registering. 

10 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered condition’ means a med12 ical condition that is determined by the Secretary of 

13 Defense to have resulted from residing in an unsafe 

14 housing unit. 

15 ‘‘(2) The term ‘eligible individual’ means a 

16 member of the armed forces or a family member of 

17 a member of the armed forces who has resided in an 

18 unsafe housing unit.’’. 

19 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec20 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

21 by inserting after the item relating to section 2894a 

22 the following new item: 

‘‘2895. Screening and registry of individuals with health conditions resulting 

from unsafe housing units.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. PRESUMPTIONS OF SERVICE CONNECTION FOR ILL2 NESSES OR CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH 

3 RESIDING IN PRIVATIZED MILITARY HOUS4 ING. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 11 of 

6 title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

7 end the following new section: 

8 ‘‘§ 1120A. Presumptions of service connection for ill9 nesses or conditions associated with re10 siding in privatized military housing 

11 ‘‘(a) PRESUMPTION.—(1) For purposes of section 

12 1110 of this title, and subject to section 1113 of this title, 

13 each illness or condition, if any, described in paragraph 

14 (2) shall be considered to have been incurred in or aggra15 vated by service described in that paragraph, notwith16 standing that there is no record of evidence of such illness 

17 or condition during the period of such service. 

18 ‘‘(2) An illness or condition described in this para19 graph is any diagnosed or undiagnosed illness or condition 

20 that— 

21 ‘‘(A) the Secretary determines, in consultation 

22 with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 

23 Registry, in regulations prescribed under section 

24 1174 of this title to warrant a presumption of serv25 ice connection by reason of having a positive associa26 tion with residence in a privatized military housing 


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1 unit while serving in the Armed Forces during a pe2 riod determined by the Secretary in consultation 

3 with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 

4 Registry; and 

5 ‘‘(B) becomes manifest within the period, if 

6 any, prescribed in such regulations in a veteran who 

7 resided in a privatized military housing unit during 

8 service in the Armed Forces. 

9 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, a veteran who 

10 resided in a privatized military housing unit while serving 

11 in the Armed Forces during the period described in para12 graph (2) and who has an illness or condition described 

13 in such paragraph shall be presumed to have developed 

14 that illness or condition by reason of such service unless 

15 there is conclusive evidence to establish that the veteran 

16 developed that illness or condition through another means. 

17 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATIONS RELATING TO ILLNESSES OR

18 CONDITIONS.—(1) Whenever the Secretary determines, in 

19 consultation with the Agency for Toxic Substances and 

20 Disease Registry, on the basis of sound medical and sci21 entific evidence, that a positive association exists between 

22 residence in a privatized military housing unit and the oc23 currence of an illness or condition, the Secretary shall pre24 scribe regulations (in accordance with section 1174 of this 

25 title) providing that a presumption of service connection 


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1 is warranted for that illness or condition for the purposes 

2 of this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) In making determinations for the purpose of this 

4 subsection, the Secretary shall take into account all other 

5 sound medical and scientific information and analyses 

6 available to the Secretary. In evaluating any study for the 

7 purpose of making such determinations, the Secretary 

8 shall take into consideration whether the results are statis9 tically significant, are capable of replication, and with10 stand peer review. 

11 ‘‘(3) An association under paragraph (1) shall be con12 sidered to be positive for the purposes of this section if 

13 the credible evidence for the association is equal to or out14 weighs the credible evidence against the association. 

15 ‘‘(c) REMOVAL OF ILLNESSES OR CONDITIONS.— 

16 Whenever an illness or condition is removed from regula17 tions prescribed under this section— 

18 ‘‘(1) a veteran who was awarded compensation 

19 for such illness or condition on the basis of the pre20 sumption provided in subsection (a) before the effec21 tive date of the removal shall continue to be entitled 

22 to receive compensation on that basis; and 

23 ‘‘(2) a survivor of a veteran who was awarded 

24 dependency and indemnity compensation for the 

25 death of a veteran resulting from such illness or conVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Jan 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5520.IS S5520

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1 dition on the basis of such presumption shall con2 tinue to be entitled to receive dependency and in3 demnity compensation on such basis. 

4 ‘‘(d) PRIVATIZED MILITARY HOUSING UNIT DE5 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘privatized military 

6 housing unit’ means a housing unit under subchapter IV 

7 of chapter 169 of title 10.’’. 

8 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

9 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

10 after the item relating to section 1120 the following new 

11 item: 

‘‘1120A. Presumptions of service connection for illnesses or conditions associated with residing in privatized military housing.’’. 

12 SEC. 4. HOSPITAL CARE, MEDICAL SERVICES, AND NURS13 ING HOME CARE FOR FAMILY MEMBERS OF 

14 VETERANS WHO RESIDED IN PRIVATIZED 

15 MILITARY HOUSING. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter VIII of chapter 17 of 

17 title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

18 section 1787 the following new section: 

19 ‘‘§ 1787A. Health care of family members of veterans 

20 who resided in privatized military hous21 ing 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A family member of a veteran 

23 described in paragraph (3) of section 1120A(a) of this title 

24 who resided in a privatized military housing unit during 


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1 the period described in paragraph (2) of such section, or 

2 who was in utero during such period while the mother of 

3 such family member resided in such housing unit, shall 

4 be eligible for hospital care, medical services, and nursing 

5 home care furnished by the Secretary for any covered ill6 ness or condition that is associated with residing in a 

7 privatized military housing unit during such period. 

8 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—(1) The Secretary may only fur9 nish hospital care, medical services, and nursing home 

10 care under subsection (a) to the extent and in the amount 

11 provided in advance in appropriations Acts for such pur12 pose. 

13 ‘‘(2) Hospital care, medical services, and nursing 

14 home care may not be furnished under subsection (a) for 

15 an illness or condition of a family member that is found, 

16 in accordance with guidelines issued by the Under Sec17 retary for Health, to have resulted from a cause other 

18 than the residence of the family member described in that 

19 subsection. 

20 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered illness or condition’ 

22 means an illness or condition described in section 

23 1120A(a)(2) of this title. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘privatized military housing unit’ 

2 has the meaning given that term in section 

3 1120A(d) of this title.’’. 

4 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

5 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

6 after the item relating to section 1787 the following new 

7 item: 

‘‘1787A. Health care of family members of veterans who resided in privatized 

military housing.’’. 

8 SEC. 5. ETHICAL LIMITATIONS RELATING TO OWNERSHIP 

9 OF PRIVATIZED MILITARY HOUSING ENTI10 TIES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208 of title 18, United 

12 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(e)(1) In this subsection, the term ‘covered indi15 vidual’ means an individual— 

16 ‘‘(A) who— 

17 ‘‘(i) is serving as a Member of Congress 

18 (as defined in section 2106 of title 5); and 

19 ‘‘(ii) serves on the Committee on Armed 

20 Services of the Senate or the Committee on 

21 Armed Services of the House of Representa22 tives; 


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1 ‘‘(B) who is an employee (as defined in section 

2 2105 of title 5) of the Department of Defense who 

3 is serving— 

4 ‘‘(i) in a Senior Executive Service position 

5 (as defined in section 3132 of title 5); 

6 ‘‘(ii) in a position on the Executive Sched7 ule under subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 

8 5; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) in any other position for which the 

10 rate of compensation is at or above the min11 imum rate of compensation for a Senior Execu12 tive Service position in the Department of De13 fense; or 

14 ‘‘(C) who is a member of the Armed Forces 

15 serving in a position for which the pay grade is at 

16 or above level O–7. 

17 ‘‘(2) A covered individual may not own any interest 

18 (other than as part of a widely-held investment fund de19 scribed in section 13104(f)(8) of title 5) in an entity that 

20 owns or manages a housing unit under subchapter IV of 

21 chapter 169 of title 10.’’. 

22 (b) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.—Section 216 of title 18, 

23 United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘(which shall 

2 not include a violation of subsection (e) of such sec3 tion 208)’’ after ‘‘208’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (b), in the first sentence, by 

5 inserting ‘‘or a violation of section 208(e)’’ after 

6 ‘‘209 of this title’’; and 

7 (3) in subsection (c)— 

8 (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘or 

9 a violation of section 208(e)’’ after ‘‘209 of this 

10 title’’; and 

11 (B) in the second sentence, by inserting 

12 ‘‘or violation’’ after ‘‘such an offense’’. 

13 SEC. 6. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS. 

14 The Secretary of Defense may modify any contract 

15 or agreement entered into under subchapter IV of chapter 

16 169 of title 10, United States Code, for purposes of car17 rying out this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

Æ 


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