Military Housing Oversight and Service Member Protection Act
Bill: S.2368 | Sponsor: Sen. Warren, Elizabeth (D-MA)
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Military Housing Oversight and Service Member Protection Act
This bill modifies various provisions related to the contracting and provision of privatized military housing.
Among other requirements, DOD must
The bill also
DOD is authorized to modify any contract entered into regarding privatized military housing to conform to changes made by this 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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Military Housing Oversight and 
Service Member Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF OVERSIGHT OF PRIVATIZED MILITARY HOUSING.

    (a) Oversight of Contracts and Housing Units.--
            (1) In general.--Subchapter IV of chapter 169 of title 10, 
        United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following new section:
``Sec. 2885a. Oversight of contracts and housing units
    ``(a) Oversight of Contracts.--(1) The Secretary of Defense shall 
establish formal written requirements and guidance for entering into 
and renewing contracts under this subchapter.
    ``(2) The Secretary--
            ``(A) shall rescind a contract under this subchapter if the 
        other party to the contract, based on credible evidence, fails 
        to cure a material breach of such contract committed by such 
        party within 90 days; and
            ``(B) shall not permit the other party to a contract 
        rescinded under subparagraph (A) to enter into new contracts 
        with the Secretary or undertake expansions under existing 
        contracts with the Secretary.
    ``(3) The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary 
concerned, shall adopt a formal written contingency plan for the 
management of housing units in the event that a contract relating to 
those housing units is rescinded under paragraph (2)(A).
    ``(b) Housing Office Employees.--The Secretary of Defense shall 
ensure that each housing office at a military installation consists 
only of employees of the military department concerned.
    ``(c) Inspections of Housing Units.--(1) The Secretary of Defense 
shall--
            ``(A) provide for the conduct of regular building code and 
        health inspections of housing units, consistent with industry 
        standards, which shall include, at a minimum--
                    ``(i) inspection before each tenant first occupies 
                a housing unit and again before the tenant moves out; 
                and
                    ``(ii) inspection during and after any new 
                construction or renovation of a housing unit;
            ``(B) employ a sufficient number of independent housing 
        inspectors with all appropriate State and local inspection 
        certifications to conduct inspections under subparagraph (A) 
        without notice to landlords; and
            ``(C) provide appropriate oversight to ensure that all 
        maintenance for such housing units is completed in accordance 
        with all applicable Federal, State, and local health and 
        building codes.
    ``(2)(A) In providing for the conduct of inspections of housing 
units under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall permit State and 
local housing inspectors to conduct inspections of such units without 
notice to landlords.
    ``(B) Not less frequently than annually, the Secretary shall notify 
State and local housing inspectors that they are permitted on a 
military installation to conduct inspections under subparagraph (A).
    ``(3) In this subsection, the term `independent housing inspector' 
means a housing inspector that is not an employee of the landlord of 
the housing unit being inspected, including any subsidiary of the 
landlord.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of such subchapter is amended by inserting after the 
        item relating to section 2885 the following new item:

``2885a. Oversight of contracts and housing units.''.
    (b) Treatment of Housing Laws.--Section 2890 of such title is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(g) Treatment of Housing Laws.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, all Federal, State, and local housing protections 
that would otherwise apply to a tenant located in a jurisdiction 
surrounding a military installation in the United States, including 
standards relating to habitability and defenses to eviction, shall 
apply to a tenant residing in a housing unit that is located on a 
military installation.''.
    (c) Improvement of Financial Transparency.--Section 2891c of such 
title is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(2), by adding at the end the 
        following new subparagraph:
            ``(G) Financial statements equivalent to a 10-K (or 
        successor form) for--
                    ``(i) the landlord; and
                    ``(ii) each contract entered into between the 
                landlord and the Department of Defense under this 
                subchapter.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Publication of Financial Details.--(1) Not less frequently 
than annually, the Secretary Defense shall publish in the Federal 
Register the financial details of each contract for the management of 
housing units.
    ``(2) Not later than 15 days after receiving financial statements 
under subsection (a)(2)(G), the Secretary shall publish on a publicly 
available website of the Department of Defense those financial 
statements.''.
    (d) Approval of Completed Work.--Section 2892 of such title is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Approval of Completed Work.--A landlord of a housing unit may 
not indicate on the maintenance work order system of the landlord that 
maintenance work was completed until an independent inspector approves 
the completion of the maintenance work in writing.''.
    (e) Screening and Registry of Individuals With Health Conditions 
Resulting From Unsafe Housing Units.--
            (1) In general.--Subchapter V of chapter 169 of such title 
        is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 2895. Screening and registry of individuals with health 
              conditions resulting from unsafe housing units
    ``(a) Screening.--(1) The Secretary of Defense, in consultation 
with appropriate scientific agencies as determined by the Secretary, 
shall ensure that all military medical treatment facilities screen 
eligible individuals for covered conditions.
    ``(2) The Secretary may establish procedures through which 
screening under paragraph (1) may allow an eligible individual to be 
included in the registry under subsection (b).
    ``(b) Registry.--(1) The Secretary of Defense shall establish and 
maintain a registry of eligible individuals who have a covered 
condition.
    ``(2) The Secretary shall include any information in the registry 
under paragraph (1) that the Secretary determines necessary to 
ascertain and monitor the health of eligible individuals and the 
connection between the health of such individuals and an unsafe housing 
unit.
    ``(3) The Secretary shall develop a public information campaign to 
inform eligible individuals about the registry under paragraph (1), 
including how to register and the benefits of registering.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `covered condition' means a medical 
        condition that is determined by the Secretary of Defense to 
        have resulted from residing in an unsafe housing unit.
            ``(2) The term `eligible individual' means a member of the 
        armed forces or a family member of a member of the armed forces 
        who has resided in an unsafe housing unit.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of such subchapter is amended by inserting after the 
        item relating to section 2894a the following new item:

``2895. Screening and registry of individuals with health conditions 
                            resulting from unsafe housing units.''.

SEC. 3. PRESUMPTIONS OF SERVICE CONNECTION FOR ILLNESSES ASSOCIATED 
              WITH RESIDING IN PRIVATIZED MILITARY HOUSING.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 11 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1119. Presumptions of service connection for illnesses 
              associated with residing in privatized military housing
    ``(a) Presumption.--(1) For purposes of section 1110 of this title, 
and subject to section 1113 of this title, each illness, if any, 
described in paragraph (2) shall be considered to have been incurred in 
or aggravated by service described in that paragraph, notwithstanding 
that there is no record of evidence of such illness during the period 
of such service.
    ``(2) An illness described in this paragraph is any diagnosed or 
undiagnosed illness that--
            ``(A) the Secretary determines, in consultation with the 
        Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, in 
        regulations prescribed under this section to warrant a 
        presumption of service connection by reason of having a 
        positive association with residence in a privatized military 
        housing unit while serving in the Armed Forces during a period 
        determined by the Secretary in consultation with the Agency for 
        Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; and
            ``(B) becomes manifest within the period, if any, 
        prescribed in such regulations in a veteran who resided in a 
        privatized military housing unit during service in the Armed 
        Forces.
    ``(3) For purposes of this subsection, a veteran who resided in a 
privatized military housing unit while serving in the Armed Forces 
during the period described in paragraph (2) and who has an illness 
described in such paragraph shall be presumed to have developed that 
illness by reason of such service unless there is conclusive evidence 
to establish that the veteran developed that illness through another 
means.
    ``(b) Determinations Relating to Diseases.--(1) Whenever the 
Secretary determines, in consultation with the Agency for Toxic 
Substances and Disease Registry, on the basis of sound medical and 
scientific evidence, that a positive association exists between 
residence in a privatized military housing unit and the occurrence of a 
disease in humans, the Secretary shall prescribe regulations providing 
that a presumption of service connection is warranted for that disease 
for the purposes of this section.
    ``(2) In making determinations for the purpose of this subsection, 
the Secretary shall take into account all other sound medical and 
scientific information and analyses available to the Secretary. In 
evaluating any study for the purpose of making such determinations, the 
Secretary shall take into consideration whether the results are 
statistically significant, are capable of replication, and withstand 
peer review.
    ``(3) An association under paragraph (1) shall be considered to be 
positive for the purposes of this section if the credible evidence for 
the association is equal to or outweighs the credible evidence against 
the association.
    ``(c) Removal of Diseases.--Whenever a disease is removed from 
regulations prescribed under this section--
            ``(1) a veteran who was awarded compensation for such 
        disease on the basis of the presumption provided in subsection 
        (a) before the effective date of the removal shall continue to 
        be entitled to receive compensation on that basis; and
            ``(2) a survivor of a veteran who was awarded dependency 
        and indemnity compensation for the death of a veteran resulting 
        from such disease on the basis of such presumption shall 
        continue to be entitled to receive dependency and indemnity 
        compensation on such basis.
    ``(d) Privatized Military Housing Unit Defined.--In this section, 
the term `privatized military housing unit' means a housing unit under 
subchapter IV of chapter 169 of title 10.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
1118 the following new item:

``1119. Presumptions of service connection for illnesses associated 
                            with residing in privatized military 
                            housing.''.

SEC. 4. HOSPITAL CARE, MEDICAL SERVICES, AND NURSING HOME CARE FOR 
              FAMILY MEMBERS OF VETERANS WHO RESIDED IN PRIVATIZED 
              MILITARY HOUSING.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter VIII of chapter 17 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1787 the following 
new section:
``Sec. 1787A. Health care of family members of veterans who resided in 
              privatized military housing
    ``(a) In General.--A family member of a veteran described in 
paragraph (3) of section 1119(a) of this title who resided in a 
privatized military housing unit during the period described in 
paragraph (2) of such section, or who was in utero during such period 
while the mother of such family member resided in such housing unit, 
shall be eligible for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home 
care furnished by the Secretary for any covered illness that is 
associated with residing in a privatized military housing unit during 
such period.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `covered illness' means an illness described 
        in section 1119(a)(2) of this title.
            ``(2) The term `privatized military housing unit' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 1119(d) of this title.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
1787 the following new item:

``1787A. Health care of family members of veterans who resided in 
                            privatized military housing.''.

SEC. 5. ETHICAL LIMITATIONS RELATING TO OWNERSHIP OF PRIVATIZED 
              MILITARY HOUSING ENTITIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 208 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e)(1) In this subsection, the term `covered individual' means an 
individual--
            ``(A) who--
                    ``(i) is serving as a Member of Congress (as 
                defined in section 2106 of title 5); and
                    ``(ii) serves on the Committee on Armed Services of 
                the Senate or the Committee on Armed Services of the 
                House of Representatives;
            ``(B) who is an employee (as defined in section 2105 of 
        title 5) of the Department of Defense who is serving--
                    ``(i) in a Senior Executive Service position (as 
                defined in section 3132 of title 5);
                    ``(ii) in a position on the Executive Schedule 
                under subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 5; or
                    ``(iii) in any other position for which the rate of 
                compensation is at or above the minimum rate of 
                compensation for a Senior Executive Service position in 
                the Department of Defense; or
            ``(C) who is a member of the Armed Forces serving in a 
        position for which the pay grade is at or above level O-7.
    ``(2) A covered individual may not own any interest (other than as 
part of a widely-held investment fund described in section 102(f)(8) of 
the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.)) in an entity that 
owns or manages a housing unit under subchapter IV of chapter 169 of 
title 10.''.
    (b) Civil Enforcement.--Section 216 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``(which shall not 
        include a violation of subsection (e) of such section 208)'' 
        after ``208'';
            (2) in subsection (b), in the first sentence, by inserting 
        ``or a violation of section 208(e)'' after ``209 of this 
        title''; and
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ``or a 
                violation of section 208(e)'' after ``209 of this 
                title''; and
                    (B) in the second sentence, by inserting ``or 
                violation'' after ``such an offense''.

SEC. 6. CLARIFICATION OF PROHIBITION AGAINST COLLECTION FROM TENANTS OF 
              PRIVATIZED MILITARY HOUSING UNITS OF AMOUNTS IN ADDITION 
              TO RENT.

    Section 2891a(e) of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``the any'' each place it appears and 
        inserting ``any''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(3) Costs incurred to modify or upgrade a housing unit to comply 
with standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 
U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and facilitate occupancy of the housing unit by 
an individual with a disability (as defined in section 3 of such Act 
(42 U.S.C. 12102)) may not be considered optional services under 
paragraph (2)(A)(i) or another exception to the prohibition in 
paragraph (1) against collection from tenants of housing units of 
amounts in addition to rent.''.

SEC. 7. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS.

    The Secretary of Defense may modify any contract entered into under 
subchapter IV of chapter 169 of title 10, United States Code, for 
purposes of carrying out this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
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