I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2487 
To amend title 37, United States Code, to provide for the housing treatment 
of members of the Armed Forces and their spouses and dependents 
undergoing a permanent change of station in the United States, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 17, 2017 
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina (for himself and Mrs. DAVIS of California) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Armed Services 
A BILL 
To amend title 37, United States Code, to provide for the 
housing treatment of members of the Armed Forces and 
their spouses and dependents undergoing a permanent 
change of station in the United States, 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 Family Sta-
bility Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. HOUSING TREATMENT FOR CERTAIN MEMBERS OF 
THE ARMED FORCES, AND THEIR SPOUSES 
AND OTHER DEPENDENTS, UNDERGOING A 
PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION WITHIN 
THE UNITED STATES. 
(a) HOUSING TREATMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 37, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 
403 the following new section: 
‘‘§ 403a. Housing treatment for certain members of 
the Armed Forces, and their spouses and 
other dependents, undergoing a perma-
nent change of station within the United 
States 
‘‘(a) HOUSING TREATMENT FOR CERTAIN MEMBERS 
WHO HAVE A SPOUSE OR OTHER DEPENDENTS.— 
‘‘(1) HOUSING
TREATMENT
REGULATIONS.— 
The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations 
that permit a member of the armed forces described 
in paragraph (2) who is undergoing a permanent 
change of station within the United States to re-
quest the housing treatment described in subsection 
(b) during the covered relocation period of the mem-
ber. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE
MEMBERS.—A member de-
scribed in this paragraph is any member who— 
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‘‘(A) has a spouse who is gainfully em-
ployed or enrolled in a degree, certificate or li-
cense granting program at the beginning of the 
covered relocation period; 
‘‘(B) has one or more dependents attend-
ing an elementary or secondary school at the 
beginning of the covered relocation period; 
‘‘(C) has one or more dependents enrolled 
in the Exceptional Family Member Program; or 
‘‘(D) is caring for an immediate family 
member with a chronic or long-term illness at 
the beginning of the covered relocation period. 
‘‘(b) HOUSING TREATMENT.— 
‘‘(1) CONTINUATION
OF
HOUSING
FOR
THE 
SPOUSE AND OTHER DEPENDENTS.—If a spouse or 
other dependent of a member whose request under 
subsection (a) is approved resides in Government- 
owned or Government-leased housing at the begin-
ning of the covered relocation period, the spouse or 
other dependent may continue to reside in such 
housing during a period determined in accordance 
with the regulations prescribed pursuant to this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(2) 
EARLY
HOUSING
ELIGIBILITY.—If 
a 
spouse or other dependent of a member whose re-
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quest under subsection (a) is approved is eligible to 
reside in Government-owned or Government-leased 
housing following the member’s permanent change 
of station within the United States, the spouse or 
other dependent may commence residing in such 
housing at any time during the covered relocation 
period. 
‘‘(3) TEMPORARY USE OF GOVERNMENT-OWNED 
OR GOVERNMENT-LEASED HOUSING INTENDED FOR 
MEMBERS WITHOUT A SPOUSE OR DEPENDENT.—If 
a spouse or other dependent of a member relocates 
at a time different from the member in accordance 
with a request approved under subsection (a), the 
member may be assigned to Government-owned or 
Government-leased housing intended for the perma-
nent housing of members without a spouse or de-
pendent until the member’s detachment date or the 
spouse or other dependent’s arrival date, but only if 
such Government-owned or Government-leased hous-
ing is available without displacing a member without 
a spouse or dependent at such housing. 
‘‘(4) EQUITABLE BASIC ALLOWANCE FOR HOUS-
ING.—If a spouse or other dependent of a member 
relocates at a time different from the member in ac-
cordance with a request approved under subsection 
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(a), the amount of basic allowance for housing pay-
able may be based on whichever of the following 
areas the Secretary concerned determines to be the 
most equitable: 
‘‘(A) The area of the duty station to which 
the member is reassigned. 
‘‘(B) The area in which the spouse or 
other dependent resides, but only if the spouse 
or other dependent resides in that area when 
the member departs for the duty station to 
which the member is reassigned, and only for 
the period during which the spouse or other de-
pendent resides in that area. 
‘‘(C) The area of the former duty station 
of the member, but only if that area is different 
from the area in which the spouse or other de-
pendent resides. 
‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION RELATED TO CERTAIN 
BASIC ALLOWANCE FOR HOUSING PAYMENTS.—Nothing 
in this section shall be construed to limit the payment or 
the amount of basic allowance for housing payable under 
section 403(d)(3)(A) of this title to a member whose re-
quest under subsection (a) is approved. 
‘‘(d) HOUSING TREATMENT EDUCATION.—The regu-
lations prescribed pursuant to this section shall ensure the 
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relocation assistance programs under section 1056 of title 
10 include, as part of the assistance normally provided 
under such section, education about the housing treatment 
available under this section. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) COVERED RELOCATION PERIOD.—(A) Sub-
ject to subparagraph (B), the term ‘covered reloca-
tion period’, when used with respect to a permanent 
change of station of a member of the armed forces, 
means the period that— 
‘‘(i) begins 180 days before the date of the 
permanent change of station; and 
‘‘(ii) ends 180 days after the date of the 
permanent change of station. 
‘‘(B) The regulations prescribed pursuant to 
this section may provide for a lengthening of the 
covered relocation period of a member for purposes 
of this section. 
‘‘(2) DEPENDENT.—The term ‘dependent’ has 
the meaning given that term in section 401 of this 
title. 
‘‘(3) PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION.—The 
term ‘permanent change of station’ means a perma-
nent change of station described in section 452(b)(2) 
of this title.’’. 
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(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of chapter 7 such title is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 403 the following new item: 
‘‘403a. Housing treatment for certain members of the armed forces, and their 
spouses and other dependents, undergoing a permanent change 
of station within the United States.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act, and shall apply with respect to permanent 
changes of station of members of the Armed Forces that 
occur on or after October 1 of the fiscal year that begins 
after such date of enactment. 
(c) COMPTROLLER
GENERAL
OF
THE
UNITED 
STATES REPORT.— 
(1) REPORT
REQUIRED.—Not later than one 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall sub-
mit to Congress a report on potential actions of the 
Department of Defense to enhance the well-being of 
military families undergoing a permanent change of 
station. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para-
graph (1) shall include the following: 
(A) A comparison of the current percent-
age of spouses in military families who work 
with the percentage of spouses in military fami-
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lies who worked in the recent past, and an as-
sessment of the impact of the change in such 
percentage on military families. 
(B) An assessment of the effects of reloca-
tion of military families undergoing a perma-
nent change of station on the employment, edu-
cation, and licensure of spouses of military fam-
ilies. 
(C) An identification of potential actions of 
the Department to enhance the well-being of 
military families undergoing a permanent 
change of station and to generate cost savings 
in connection with such changes of station. 
(D) An assessment of the utilization rate 
of the housing treatment provided by section 
403a of title 37, United States Code (as added 
by subsection (a)). 
(E) Such other matters as the Comptroller 
General considers appropriate. 
(3) ADDITIONAL ELEMENT ON FUNDING MILI-
TARY FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAMS.—In addition to 
the elements specified in paragraph (2), the report 
required by paragraph (1) shall also include a com-
parison of— 
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(A) the average annual amount spent by 
each Armed Force over the five-year period 
ending on December 31, 2016, on recruitment 
and retention bonuses and special pays for 
members of such Armed Force; and 
(B) the average annual amount spent by 
such Armed Force over such period on pro-
grams for military families and support of mili-
tary families. 
Æ 
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