II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4309 

To require the Secretary of Defense to conduct an evaluation of relocation 

assistance programs available to members of the Armed Forces. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 9, 2024 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself and Mr. OSSOFF) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Defense to conduct an evaluation 

of relocation assistance programs available to members 

of the Armed Forces. 

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 ‘‘Relocation Assistance 

5 for Military Families Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EVALUATION OF RELOCATION ASSISTANCE PRO7 GRAMS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall 

9 conduct an in-depth evaluation of relocation assistance 

10 programs carried out under section 1056 of title 10, 


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1 United States Code, and the use of such programs by 

2 members of the Armed Forces. 

3 (b) ELEMENTS.—The evaluation required by sub4 section (a) shall include the following: 

5 (1) An analysis of whether the relocation assist6 ance programs offered by the Department of De7 fense as of the date of the enactment of this Act— 

8 (A) conform to the requirements for such 

9 programs under section 1056 of title 10, United 

10 States Code; and 

11 (B) meet the needs of members of the 

12 Armed Forces. 

13 (2) An identification of the relocation assistance 

14 programs most frequently used by members, includ15 ing an identification of the key factors that con16 tribute to such usage. 

17 (3) An identification of— 

18 (A) specific barriers faced by members in 

19 accessing effective relocation assistance; and 

20 (B) strategies to mitigate those barriers. 

21 (4) An identification of a representative sample 

22 of military installations located in high-cost areas 

23 and, with respect to such installations, an assess24 ment of the following: 


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1 (A) The success of relocation assistance 

2 programs at such installations. 

3 (B) Partnerships between such installa4 tions and local communities aimed at helping 

5 alleviate financial burdens for members, specifi6 cally related to housing. 

7 (C) Housing supply for members, both ac8 companied and unaccompanied by dependents, 

9 comparing supply with total need. 

10 (5) An analysis of the support mechanisms 

11 available as of the date of the enactment of this Act 

12 for military families facing significant financial bur13 dens as a result of permanent changes of station to 

14 high-cost areas. 

15 (c) CONSULTATIONS.—In conducting the evaluation 

16 required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with 

17 the following: 

18 (1) Military family support organizations. 

19 (2) Members of the Armed Forces who have re20 cently undergone permanent changes of station, both 

21 accompanied and unaccompanied by dependents. 

22 (3) Members who have used relocation assist23 ance services, with a focus on those who have moved 

24 to or from high-cost areas. 

25 (4) Commanders of military installations. 


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1 (5) A selection of State and local officials that 

2 represent areas in the vicinity of military installa3 tions. 

4 (6) The Office of Local Defense Community 

5 Cooperation of the Department of Defense. 

6 (7) Housing and urban development experts 

7 with expertise in accommodations in high-cost areas. 

8 (8) Such other individuals or organizations as 

9 the Secretary considers appropriate. 

10 (d) BEST PRACTICES GUIDE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

12 after the completion of the evaluation required by 

13 subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense, in coordi14 nation with the Secretaries of the military depart15 ments, shall publish a best practices guide to be 

16 used by the leadership of military installations and 

17 by local communities to assist members of the 

18 Armed Forces with accessing relocation assistance 

19 programs. 

20 (2) ELEMENTS.—The best practices guide re21 quired by paragraph (1) shall address access to relo22 cation assistance programs determined, pursuant to 

23 the evaluation conducted under subsection (a), to be 

24 successful in assisting members who make perma25 nent changes of station to high-cost areas. Such proVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:15 Jun 11, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4309.IS S4309

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1 grams shall include programs offered both through 

2 the Department of Defense and through local com3 munities. 

4 (e) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than one year 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

6 of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense com7 mittees (as defined in section 101 of title 10, United 

8 States Code) a report that includes the following: 

9 (1) Detailed findings from the evaluation con10 ducted under subsection (a). 

11 (2) The best practices guide required by sub12 section (d), not later than 30 days before publication 

13 of the guide. 

14 (3) Recommendations for legislative or policy 

15 changes to relocation assistance programs to better 

16 fulfill the objectives of section 1056 of title 10, 

17 United States Code. 

18 (4) A roadmap, including projected timelines 

19 and resources required, for— 

20 (A) implementation and integration of the 

21 best practices set forth in the guide; and 

22 (B) addressing the needs of members of 

23 the Armed Forces making permanent changes 

24 of station to high-cost areas. 


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1 (f) REVIEW OF BEST PRACTICES GUIDE IMPLEMEN2 TATION.—Not later than 3 years after the best practices 

3 guide required by subsection (d) is published, the Comp4 troller General of the United States shall review the imple5 mentation of the guide, relocation assistance programs, 

6 and other resources provided to members of the Armed 

7 Forces to assist such members with permanent changes 

8 of station, specifically focusing on high-cost areas. 

9 (g) HIGH-COST AREA DEFINED.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

11 ‘‘high-cost area’’ shall have the meaning determined 

12 by the Secretary of Defense in regulations prescribed 

13 in accordance with paragraph (2). 

14 (2) REGULATIONS.—In prescribing regulations 

15 defining the term ‘‘high-cost area’’ for purposes of 

16 this section, the Secretary shall— 

17 (A) solicit and incorporate feedback 

18 from— 

19 (i) appropriate officials of the General 

20 Services Administration who work on rel21 evant matters; and 

22 (ii) individuals and entities described 

23 in subsection (c); and 

24 (B) consider relevant factors from across 

25 various Federal agencies that may indicate 


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1 areas that are high cost, such as the non-stand2 ard per diem rates of the General Services Ad3 ministration. 

Æ 


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