Title: Ensuring Safe Housing for Our Military Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Ensuring Safe Housing for Our Military Act
This bill addresses certain health, safety, and environmental hazards in private military housing units and offers certain protections to service members.
Among other things, the bill (1) requires uniform credentials for housing inspectors; (2) allows the Department of Defense (DOD) to withhold payment to landlords over health, safety, or environmental hazard concerns; (3) requires a landlord to pay certain relocation costs in connection with a hazard and to reimburse a tenant for personal property damage; and (4) disallows deposits and certain fees or penalties.
DOD must maintain an electronic work order system to facilitate repairs to units.


[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 703 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 703

 To amend title 10, United States Code, to address health, safety, and 
 environmental hazards at private military housing units, to prohibit 
 the payment by members of the Armed Forces of deposits or other fees 
        relating to such housing units, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 7, 2019

  Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Mr. Warner, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Harris, Mr. 
Blumenthal, and Mrs. Shaheen) introduced the following bill; which was 
       read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 10, United States Code, to address health, safety, and 
 environmental hazards at private military housing units, to prohibit 
 the payment by members of the Armed Forces of deposits or other fees 
        relating to such housing units, 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 ``Ensuring Safe Housing for Our 
Military Act''.

SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF HEALTH, SAFETY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS AT 
              PRIVATE MILITARY HOUSING UNITS.

    (a) 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. 2887. Health, safety, and environmental hazards
    ``(a) Common Credentials.--The Secretary of Defense shall require 
credentials that are the same throughout the Department of Defense for 
all inspectors of health, safety, and environmental hazards at housing 
units acquired or constructed under this subchapter, including 
inspectors contracted by the Department.
    ``(b) Review and Approval of Mold Management and Pest Control 
Plan.--Not less frequently than annually, the commander of each 
military installation shall review and approve the mold management plan 
and pest control plan for any housing unit acquired or constructed 
under this subchapter for members of the armed forces stationed at such 
military installation before such plan is implemented.
    ``(c) Withholding of Amounts.--(1) After notification of a 
potential mold bloom, water intrusion, infestation, or any other 
health, safety, or environmental hazard at a housing unit acquired or 
constructed under this subchapter for a member of the armed forces 
stationed at a military installation, the commander of the military 
installation shall withhold payment to the landlord responsible for 
such unit of the basic allowance for housing received by the member 
(and any dependents of the member in the member's household) under 
section 403 of title 37 until--
            ``(A) a military housing official of the Department 
        assesses the potential hazard;
            ``(B) steps have been taken by the landlord to remediate 
        the hazard;
            ``(C) the military housing official determines, and submits 
        such determination to the Secretary concerned in writing, that 
        the steps taken to remediate the hazard have cured the hazard; 
        and
            ``(D) the member agrees with the determination under 
        subparagraph (C).
    ``(2) The Secretary of Defense shall withhold incentive fees paid 
to a landlord for persistent failure to remedy a health, safety, or 
environmental hazard, as determined by the Secretary.
    ``(d) Payment of Relocation Costs.--(1) A landlord responsible for 
a housing unit acquired or constructed under this subchapter shall pay 
for the reasonable relocation costs, including costs for temporary 
relocation, of a member of the armed forces and their family in 
connection with a health, safety, or environmental hazard at the unit.
    ``(2) In this subsection, the term `reasonable relocation costs' 
has the meaning given that term by the Secretary of Defense.
    ``(e) Payment for Damaged Personal Property.--A landlord 
responsible for a housing unit acquired or constructed under this 
subchapter shall reimburse a tenant of the unit for any personal 
property damaged as a result of a health, safety, or environmental 
hazard.
``Sec. 2888. Electronic work order system
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall maintain an 
electronic work order system through which a member of the armed forces 
or family member of a member of the armed forces who is a tenant of a 
housing unit acquired or constructed under this subchapter may request 
work to be done on the unit and track the progress of the work.
    ``(b) Accessibility.--The electronic work order system under 
subsection (a) shall be accessible--
            ``(1) to a member of the armed forces or family member of a 
        member of the armed forces to track a work request made through 
        such system by such an individual;
            ``(2) to a military housing official of the Department of 
        Defense or a commander of a military installation to track a 
        work request made through such system by a member of the armed 
        forces or family member of a member of the armed forces 
        stationed at the military installation under the jurisdiction 
        of that official or commander; and
            ``(3) to landlord responsible for a housing unit acquired 
        or constructed under this subchapter to track a work request 
        made through such system by a member of the armed forces or 
        family member of a member of the armed forces living in such 
        unit.
    ``(c) Information.--The system maintained under subsection (a) 
shall include such relevant information as the Secretary considers 
necessary.
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Department of Defense $5,000,000 to carry out this 
section.
``Sec. 2889. Investigation of allegations of retaliation relating to 
              complaints
    ``(a) In General.--The Inspector General of the Department of 
Defense and the Inspector General of each military department may 
investigate allegations of retaliation against a member of the armed 
forces in connection with that member reporting a complaint relating to 
a housing unit acquired or constructed under this subchapter.
    ``(b) Submittal to Congress.--The Inspector General of the 
Department and the Inspector General of each military department shall 
submit to Congress the results of any investigation conducted by that 
person under subsection (a).''.
    (b) Landlord Defined.--Section 2871 of such title is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (7) and (8) as paragraphs 
        (8) and (9), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following new 
        paragraph (7):
            ``(7) The term `landlord' means an eligible entity or 
        lessor who owns, manages, or is otherwise responsible for a 
        housing unit under this subchapter.''.
    (c) Establishment of System.--The electronic work order system to 
be maintained under section 2888 of such title, as added by subsection 
(a), shall be--
            (1) created and tested not later than two years after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act; and
            (2) implemented throughout the Department of Defense not 
        later than three years after such date of enactment.
    (d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 169 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following 
new items:

``2887. Health, safety, and environmental hazards.
``2888. Electronic work order system.
``2889. Investigation of allegations of retaliation relating to 
                            complaints.''.

SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF PAY REQUIRED BY MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES 
              RELATING TO PRIVATE MILITARY HOUSING UNITS.

    Section 2886 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Treatment of Deposits and Related Fees.--(1) The prohibition 
on imposing supplemental payments under subsection (a) shall include a 
prohibition on requiring the payment of the following:
            ``(A) A deposit.
            ``(B) Any fee or penalty associated with ending a lease 
        except for a fee relating to normal wear and tear.
    ``(2)(A) Any fee relating to normal wear and tear described in 
paragraph (1)(B) shall be reviewed and approved by a military housing 
official of the Department of Defense before being imposed.
    ``(B) A member of the armed forces who is subject to a fee 
described in subparagraph (A) may participate in the review conducted 
under such subparagraph and may appeal the decision made under such 
review.''.

SEC. 4. INFORMATION ON LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDED TO MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 
              FORCES HARMED BY HEALTH, SAFETY, OR ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS 
              AT MILITARY HOUSING.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report 
on the legal services that the Secretary may provide to members of the 
Armed Forces who have been harmed by a health, safety, or environmental 
hazard while living in military housing.
    (b) Availability of Information.--The Secretary of each military 
department shall make the information contained in the report submitted 
under subsection (a) available to members of the Armed Forces on all 
military installations in the United States.
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