I 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7188 
To improve housing and environmental health and safety protections for 
members of the Armed Forces and their families residing in military 
family housing, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 21, 2026 
Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Mr. MOYLAN, and Mr. BILIRAKIS) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To improve housing and environmental health and safety 
protections for members of the Armed Forces and their 
families residing in military family housing, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Occupancy 
Living Defense Act’’ or the ‘‘MOLD Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:55 Feb 10, 2026
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7188.IH
H7188
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
(1) The Secretary of Defense should establish 
and implement a uniform code of basic housing 
standards for safety, comfort, and habitability for 
privatized military housing, which meets or exceeds 
requirements informed by a nationally recognized, 
consensus-based, model property maintenance code. 
(2) Thousands of military families living in 
privatized military housing have been exposed to 
hazardous environmental conditions, including wide-
spread mold contamination, due to negligent mainte-
nance practices and inadequate government over-
sight. 
(3) Military families frequently shoulder the fi-
nancial burden of environmental hazards, often pay-
ing out-of-pocket for temporary relocation, the loss 
of personal property, medical expenses, and long- 
term health evaluations and treatments. 
(4) Unsafe housing conditions undermine mili-
tary readiness by forcing members of the Armed 
Forces to divert time and attention from their duties 
to manage health and housing emergencies, jeopard-
izing mission performance, morale, and unit cohe-
sion. 
(5) The lack of consistent, independent audits, 
inspections, 
and 
performance 
assessments 
of 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:55 Feb 10, 2026
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7188.IH
H7188
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
privatized military housing has enabled poor con-
tractor accountability, resulting in ongoing mainte-
nance failures and tenant harm. 
(6) The use of non-disclosure agreements by 
providers of privatized military housing to silence 
tenants reporting unsafe conditions obstructs trans-
parency, suppresses awareness of systemic failures, 
and impedes efforts to hold contractors accountable. 
(7) Available data from medical reports, tenant 
surveys, and documentation by the Department of 
Defense strongly suggest that prolonged exposure to 
mold in privatized military housing is linked to high-
er rates of respiratory illness, neurological symp-
toms, and developmental issues in children, under-
scoring the urgent need for comprehensive environ-
mental health protections. 
(8) As of the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the TRICARE program (as defined in section 1072 
of title 10, United States Code) does not cover mold- 
related medical expenses, including diagnostic test-
ing for mycotoxin exposure or long-term treatment 
for illnesses caused or exacerbated by mold, leaving 
military families without adequate support for hous-
ing-related health conditions. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:55 Feb 10, 2026
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7188.IH
H7188
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
(9) Approximately 700,000 members of the 
Armed Forces and their families reside in privatized 
military housing operated by 14 companies across 
78 developments in the United States. 
(10) Several providers of privatized military 
housing have been implicated in fraud schemes in re-
cent years, including one company that pled guilty 
in 2021 to defrauding the Department of Defense by 
falsifying maintenance records, and another that 
reached a $500,000 Federal settlement in 2022, 
without admitting guilt, for similar misconduct. 
SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF MIN-
IMUM HEALTH AND SAFETY STANDARDS FOR 
MILITARY FAMILY HOUSING. 
(a) STANDARDS.— 
(1) INITIAL GUIDANCE.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Defense shall issue in-
terim guidance for acceptable levels of relative 
humidity, ventilation, dampness, and water in-
trusion to be applied at all covered housing. 
(B) EFFECT.—Interim guidance issued 
under subparagraph (A) shall remain in effect 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:55 Feb 10, 2026
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7188.IH
H7188
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
until final standards are published under para-
graph (2). 
(2) FINAL
STANDARDS.—Not later than one 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Defense shall issue final standards for 
acceptable levels of relative humidity, ventilation, 
dampness, and water intrusion to be applied at all 
covered housing, which shall include— 
(A) acceptable levels of relative humidity 
indoors; 
(B) required ventilation and moisture con-
trol measures; 
(C) environmental inspection and testing 
methods; and 
(D) the standard of care for mold remedi-
ation adopted under subsection (g). 
(3) REPORTING AND AVAILABILITY OF TEST-
ING.—The final standards established under para-
graph (2) shall require results of environmental in-
spection and testing methods under subparagraph 
(C) of such paragraph to be reported to the Sec-
retary of Defense and made available to tenants of 
affected housing units not later than 10 days after 
sample collection. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:55 Feb 10, 2026
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7188.IH
H7188
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
(b) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE.—Not less fre-
quently than annually, each housing office of the Depart-
ment shall certify to Congress that the housing office is 
in compliance with health and safety standards for covered 
housing required under this section. 
(c) ESTABLISHMENT OF INDEPENDENT INSPECTION 
PROTOCOL FOR PRIVATIZED MILITARY HOUSING.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Defense shall ensure that each installation 
of the Department of Defense conducts, using inde-
pendent certified third-party inspectors, mold and 
environmental health inspections for all covered 
housing that is privatized military housing— 
(A) upon every tenant turnover of a hous-
ing unit; 
(B) upon receipt of any tenant complaint 
regarding safety and habitability of a housing 
unit; and 
(C) following any remediation effort, struc-
tural repair, or response to an identified envi-
ronmental hazard at a housing unit. 
(2) ELEMENTS OF INSPECTIONS.—Inspections 
conducted under paragraph (1) shall include, at a 
minimum— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:55 Feb 10, 2026
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7188.IH
H7188
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB