Title: Military HOMES Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Military Housing Oversight, Maintenance, and Enhancement for Servicemembers Act or the Military HOMES Act
This bill (1) requires mold mitigation measures for military families who are residing in military housing, (2) makes publicly available the criteria and metrics to be used by the Department of Defense (DOD) to analyze the performance of landlords that receive incentive fees, (3) establishes a working group to promulgate guidance regarding best practices for mold mitigation in privatized military housing and for determining when the presence of mold in such housing is an emergency situation requiring the relocation of the residents, (4) expands the uniform code of basic housing standards for privatized military housing to include government owned and controlled military family housing inside or outside the United States, (5) appoints at least one Exceptional Family Member Program housing liaison for each military department to assist military families, and (6) requires a report on the progress made by DOD in implementing the recommendations contained in a specified certain Government Accountability Office report regarding military housing.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7212 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7212

   To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for additional 
 reforms regarding the management and condition of privatized military 
 housing, to expand reforms to include Government-owned and Government-
      controlled military family housing, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 15, 2020

 Ms. Kendra S. Horn of Oklahoma (for herself, Mr. Waltz, Mr. Kim, and 
 Mr. Turner) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for additional 
 reforms regarding the management and condition of privatized military 
 housing, to expand reforms to include Government-owned and Government-
      controlled military family housing, 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, 
Maintenance, and Enhancement for Servicemembers Act'' or ``Military 
HOMES Act''.

SEC. 2. MOLD MITIGATION PROTECTIONS FOR MILITARY FAMILIES RESIDING IN 
              MILITARY HOUSING.

    (a) Installation Commander Responsibilities.--Subsection (b) of 
section 2891a of title 10, United States Code, as added by section 
3014(a) of the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2020 (division B of Public Law 116-92; 133 Stat. 1924), is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(3) The installation commander shall be responsible for 
administering Department of Defense guidance regarding--
            ``(A) the reimbursement of a resident of a housing unit for 
        the installation for losses to personal property incurred by 
        the resident as a result of mold damage in the housing unit or 
        the mitigation activities undertaken in response to mold in the 
        housing unit; and
            ``(B) how to manage the return of the resident to the 
        housing unit when the resident is displaced from the housing 
        unit during mold mitigation.''.
    (b) Adoption of Standards.--The Secretary of Defense, in 
consultation with the Secretaries of the military departments, 
landlords (as defined in section 2871 of title 10, United States Code), 
and other interested persons, shall promulgate the guidance described 
in paragraph (3) of section 2891a(b) of such title, as added by 
subsection (a).

SEC. 3. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION REGARDING PERFORMANCE OF 
              LANDLORDS PROVIDING MILITARY HOUSING THAT RECEIVE 
              INCENTIVE FEES.

    Subsection (b) of section 2891c of title 10, United States Code, as 
added by section 3016(a) of the Military Construction Authorization Act 
for Fiscal Year 2020 (division B of Public Law 116-92; 133 Stat. 1927), 
is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(3) The Secretary of Defense shall use the publicly accessible 
website required by paragraph (1) to disclose the criteria and metrics 
to be used by the Department of Defense to analyze the performance of 
landlords that receive incentive fees.''.

SEC. 4. PROMULGATION OF GUIDANCE ON MOLD MITIGATION IN PRIVATIZED 
              MILITARY HOUSING.

    (a) Guidance Required.--The Secretary of Defense shall establish a 
working group to promulgate guidance regarding best practices for mold 
mitigation in privatized military housing and for making the 
determination regarding when the presence of mold in a unit of home 
privatized military housing is an emergency situation requiring the 
relocation of the residents of the unit.
    (b) Members.--The working groups shall include the Surgeon Generals 
of the Armed Forces and such other subject-matter experts as the 
Secretary considers appropriate.

SEC. 5. EXPANSION OF UNIFORM CODE OF BASIC STANDARDS FOR PRIVATIZED 
              MILITARY HOUSING AND HAZARD AND HABITABILITY INSPECTION 
              AND ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS TO GOVERNMENT-OWNED AND 
              GOVERNMENT-CONTROLLED MILITARY FAMILY HOUSING.

    (a) Uniform Code of Basic Standards for Military Housing.--The 
Secretary of Defense shall expand the uniform code of basic housing 
standards for safety, comfort, and habitability for privatized military 
housing established pursuant to section 3051(a) of the Military 
Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (division B of 
Public Law 116-92; 133 Stat. 1941; 10 U.S.C. 2871 note) to include 
Government-owned and Government-controlled military family housing 
located inside or outside the United States and occupied by members of 
the Armed Forces.
    (b) Inspection and Assessment Plan.--The Secretary of Defense shall 
expand the Department of Defense housing inspection and assessment plan 
prepared pursuant to section 3051(b) of the Military Construction 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (division B of Public Law 116-
92; 133 Stat. 1941; 10 U.S.C. 2871 note) to include Government-owned 
and Government-controlled military family housing located inside or 
outside the United States and occupied by members of the Armed Forces 
and commence inspections and assessments of such military family 
housing pursuant to the plan.

SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF EXCEPTIONAL FAMILY MEMBER PROGRAM HOUSING 
              LIAISON.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than September 30, 2021, each 
Secretary of a military department shall appoint at least one 
Exceptional Family Member Program housing liaison for that military 
department.
    (b) Duties.--The duties of a Exceptional Family Member Program 
housing liaison are to assist military families enrolled in that 
Program, and who are disproportionally housed in facilities under the 
Military Housing Privatization Initiative, in obtaining cost-effective 
services needed by such families.

SEC. 7. REPORT ON DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE EFFORTS REGARDING OVERSIGHT AND 
              ROLE IN MANAGEMENT OF PRIVATIZED MILITARY HOUSING.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed 
Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the 
progress made by the Department of Defense in implementing the 
recommendations contained in the report of the Comptroller General 
regarding military housing entitled ``DOD Needs to Strengthen Oversight 
and Clarify Its Role in the Management of Privatized Housing'' and 
dated March 2020 (GAO-20-281).
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