Title: Military Housing Oversight and Service Member Protection Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Military Housing Oversight and Service Member Protection Act
This bill addresses Department of Defense (DOD) oversight and service member protections in DOD-sponsored private military housing. Among other things, the bill covers contracts, unit inspection, remedying substandard conditions, handling housing-related injuries, and prohibiting improper financial interests by public officials.
Specifically, DOD must establish requirements for entering into and renewing contracts with private landlords and must make the financial details of such agreements public.
DOD must employ certified independent housing inspectors to ensure that private military housing units are safe, clean, and adequate, and that they meet federal, state, and local laws and standards of habitability. DOD must allow state and local housing inspectors to conduct no-notice inspections, including on military installations.
DOD must require each landlord to provide access to the landlord's maintenance work order system. Service members may file a claim with DOD to withhold the basic allowance for housing if a landlord has not met maintenance guidelines or the unit is uninhabitable according to state and local law.
Military treatment facilities must screen service members and family members for medical conditions resulting from unsafe private housing, and landlords must pay medical bills associated with housing-related injuries. The Department of Veterans Affairs must provide similar care for veterans and their families.
The bill prohibits members of defense-related congressional committees and certain military officers and high-level DOD employees from having a financial interest in private military housing. Violations are subject to civil penalties.


[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1229 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1229

  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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 29, 2019

Ms. Warren (for herself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Heinrich, 
  Mr. Brown, Ms. Duckworth, and Mrs. Murray) 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 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 PRIVATE MILITARY HOUSING.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter IV of chapter 169 of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
sections:
``Sec. 2887. Oversight by Department of Defense 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) In deciding whether to enter into or renew a contract with a 
landlord under this subchapter, the Secretary shall consider any 
history of the landlord of providing substandard housing.
    ``(3) The Secretary--
            ``(A) shall withhold amounts to be paid under a contract 
        under this subchapter if the other party to the contract is 
        found to have engaged in a material breach of the contract;
            ``(B) shall rescind a contract under this subchapter if the 
        other party to the contract, based on credible evidence, fails 
        to cure such breach within 90 days; and
            ``(C) shall not permit the other party to a contract 
        rescinded under subparagraph (B) to enter into new contracts 
        with the Secretary or undertake expansions under existing 
        contracts with the Secretary.
    ``(4) The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary 
concerned, shall adopt a formal written contingency plan for the 
management of housing units under this subchapter in the event that a 
contract relating to those housing units is rescinded under paragraph 
(3)(B).
    ``(b) Standardized Lease Agreements.--The Secretary of Defense 
shall include in any contract with a landlord under this subchapter a 
requirement that the landlord use a lease agreement that is standard 
throughout the Department of Defense.
    ``(c) 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.
    ``(d) Inspections of Housing Units.--(1) The Secretary of Defense 
shall--
            ``(A) ensure that all housing units under this subchapter 
        are safe, clean, and adequate and meet all Federal, state, and 
        local laws and standards of habitability;
            ``(B) provide for the conduct of regular building code and 
        health inspections of such housing units, consistent with 
        industry standards, which shall include, at 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;
            ``(C) employ a sufficient number of independent housing 
        inspectors with all appropriate State and local inspection 
        certifications to conduct no-notice inspections under 
        subparagraph (B); and
            ``(D) 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)(B), the Secretary shall permit State and 
local housing inspectors to conduct no-notice inspections of such 
units.
    ``(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 an entity that 
owns or manages the housing unit being inspected, including any 
subsidiary of that entity.
    ``(e) Resident Surveys.--The Secretary of Defense shall consult 
with the Secretary of each military department, members of the Armed 
Forces and their representatives, and stakeholders to develop an 
appropriate methodology to conduct independent surveys of residents of 
housing units under this subchapter that are standardized across the 
military departments.
    ``(f) Access to Maintenance Work Order System.--The Secretary of 
Defense shall require each landlord to provide to the housing office at 
each military installation access to the maintenance work order system 
of such landlord with respect to housing units for members of the Armed 
Forces and family members of members of the Armed Forces stationed at 
such installation.
``Sec. 2888. Tenant rights
    ``(a) Claim To Withhold Payments.--(1) A member of the Armed Forces 
or family member of a member of the Armed Forces who is a tenant of a 
housing unit under this subchapter may file a claim with the housing 
office of the military installation at which the member is stationed 
requesting to withhold any basic allowance for housing payable to the 
member (including for any dependents of the member in the member's 
household) under section 403 of title 37, or any other allotment of pay 
under section 2882(c) of this title, for lease of the unit during the 
period in which--
            ``(A) the landlord responsible for such housing unit has 
        not met maintenance guidelines and procedures established by 
        the landlord or the Department of Defense, either through 
        contract or otherwise; or
            ``(B) such housing unit is uninhabitable according to State 
        and local law for the jurisdiction in which the housing unit is 
        located.
    ``(2)(A) Upon the filing of a claim by a tenant under paragraph 
(1)--
            ``(i) under such procedures as the Secretary of Defense 
        shall establish, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service 
        (DFAS) or such other appropriate office or offices of the 
        Department of Defense as the Secretary shall specify for 
        purposes of such procedures, shall tentatively grant the 
        request; and
            ``(ii) the housing office that receives the claim shall, 
        not later than 15 days after the date of the request, complete 
        an investigation that includes an inspection conducted by 
        housing inspectors that are certified at the State and local 
        level.
    ``(B) If the housing office agrees with a claim by a tenant under 
subparagraph (A) with respect to a housing unit, the housing office 
shall notify the landlord responsible for such unit of the issues 
described in subsection (a) that require remediation in accordance with 
the requirements of the Department of Defense or State or local law.
    ``(C) If after an inspection conducted under subparagraph (A)(ii), 
the request of the tenant to withhold payment is denied, the tenant may 
appeal that decision to the commander of the military installation 
concerned.
    ``(3) In accordance with procedures established under paragraph 
(1)(A)(i) for the withholding of any basic allowance for housing or 
other allotment pay under this subsection, if the landlord responsible 
for the housing unit does not remediate the issues described in 
paragraph (1) during a timeline reasonably established by the housing 
office for the remediation of the issue, the amount payable to the 
landlord for such unit--
            ``(A) shall be reduced by 10 percent for each period of 
        five days during which the issues are not remediated; and
            ``(B) the amount of any such reduction shall be returned to 
        the tenant to whom such amount was provided.
    ``(b) Disclosure of Rights.--(1) Each housing office of a military 
installation shall disclose in writing to each new tenant of a housing 
unit under this subchapter, upon the signing of the lease for the 
housing unit, their rights with respect to the housing unit and the 
procedures under this section for filing a claim against the landlord 
responsible for the housing unit.
    ``(2) The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that each lease entered 
into with a tenant for a housing unit under this subchapter clearly 
expresses in a separate addendum the procedures under this section for 
filing a claim against the landlord responsible for the housing unit.
    ``(c) Relocation.--(1) The Secretary concerned shall include in any 
contract with a landlord responsible for a housing unit under this 
subchapter under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned a 
requirement that the landlord pay all costs associated with relocation 
of a tenant of such unit, including moving services, temporary lodging, 
per diem, and any other reasonable costs associated with such 
relocation, if the housing office with jurisdiction over the housing 
unit finds that the housing unit requires renovations or maintenance 
that necessitate the tenant relocating permanently or temporarily.
    ``(2) In the case of renovations or maintenance to a housing unit 
under this subchapter that necessitate a tenant relocating permanently 
or temporarily, the tenant may relocate to a residence outside of the 
military installation at which the housing unit is located without 
incurring any penalty from the landlord or the Department of Defense.
    ``(d) Approval of Completed Work.--A landlord responsible for a 
housing unit under this subchapter may not indicate on the maintenance 
work order system of the landlord that maintenance work was completed 
until the tenant of such housing unit approves the completion of the 
maintenance work in writing.
    ``(e) Payment of Medical Bills.--The Secretary concerned shall 
include in any contract with a landlord responsible for a housing unit 
under this subchapter under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned 
a requirement that, if the landlord is found by the Secretary concerned 
to have not maintained the minimum standards of habitability for such 
housing unit, the landlord shall pay all medical bills for a tenant of 
such housing unit that are associated with the conditions of such 
housing unit that do not meet such minimum standards.
    ``(f) Report on Denied Appeals.--The commander of each military 
installation shall submit to the congressional defense committees, not 
less frequently than annually, a report on all appeals to such 
commander under subsection (b)(3) that were denied during the year 
covered by the report.
    ``(g) Rule of Construction on Use of Other Adjudicative Bodies.--
Nothing in this section or any other provision of law shall be 
construed to prohibit a tenant of a housing unit under this subchapter 
from pursuing a claim against a landlord in any adjudicative body with 
jurisdiction over the housing unit.
    ``(h) 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 under this subchapter that 
is located on a military installation.
``Sec. 2889. Complaint database
    ``(a) Database Required.--The Secretary of Defense shall establish 
a database that is available to the public of complaints relating to 
housing units under this subchapter.
    ``(b) Filing of Complaints.--The Secretary shall ensure that a 
tenant of a housing unit under this subchapter may file a complaint 
relating to such housing unit for inclusion in the database under 
subsection (a).
    ``(c) Response by Landlord.--(1) The Secretary shall include in any 
contract with a landlord responsible for a housing unit under this 
subchapter a requirement that the landlord respond to any complaints 
included in the database under subsection (a) that relate to the 
housing unit.
    ``(2) Any response under paragraph (1) shall be included in the 
database under subsection (a).
``Sec. 2890. 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 under this subchapter.
    ``(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 under 
        this subchapter.
            ``(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 under this 
        subchapter.''.
``Sec. 2891. Financial transparency
    ``(a) Publication of Details of Contracts.--(1) Not less frequently 
than annually, the Secretary of Defense shall publish in the Federal 
Register the financial details of each contract for the management of 
housing units under this subchapter.
    ``(2) The financial details published under paragraph (1) shall 
include the following:
            ``(A) Base management fees for managing the housing units.
            ``(B) Incentive fees relating to the housing units, 
        including details on the following:
                    ``(i) Metrics upon which such incentive fees are 
                paid.
                    ``(ii) Whether incentive fees were paid in full or 
                withheld in part or in full during the year covered by 
                the publication, and if so, why.
            ``(C) Asset management fees relating to the housing units.
            ``(D) Preferred return fees relating to the housing units.
            ``(E) Any deferred fees or other fees relating to the 
        housing units.
            ``(F) Residual cash flow distributions relating to the 
        housing units.
    ``(b) Annual Financial Statements.--(1) The Secretary of Defense 
shall require that each landlord submit to the Secretary, not less 
frequently than annually, financial statements equivalent to a 10-K (or 
successor form) for--
            ``(A) the landlord; and
            ``(B) each contract entered into between the landlord and 
        the Department of Defense under this subchapter.
    ``(2) The Secretary shall publish on a publicly available website 
of the Department of Defense the information submitted to the Secretary 
under paragraph (1) not later than 15 days after receiving that 
information.''.
    (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) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 169 of such title is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 2886 the following new items:

``2887. Oversight by Department of Defense of contracts and housing 
                            units.
``2888. Tenant rights.
``2889. Complaint database.
``2890. Screening and registry of individuals with health conditions 
                            resulting from unsafe housing units.
``2891. Financial transparency.''.

SEC. 3. ANNUAL REPORT ON PRIVATE MILITARY HOUSING.

    Section 2884 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Annual Report on Housing.--(1) Not less frequently than 
annually, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional 
defense committees and publish on a publicly available website of the 
Department of Defense a report on housing units under this subchapter, 
disaggregated by military installation.
    ``(2) Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include the 
following:
            ``(A) An assessment of the condition of housing units under 
        this subchapter based on the average age of those units and the 
        estimated time until recapitalization.
            ``(B) An analysis of complaints of tenants of such housing 
        units.
            ``(C) An assessment of maintenance response times and 
        completion of maintenance requests relating to such housing 
        units.
            ``(D) An assessment of dispute resolution relating to such 
        housing units.
            ``(E) An assessment of overall customer service for tenants 
        of such housing units.
            ``(F) A description of the results of no-notice housing 
        inspections conducted for such housing units under section 
        2887(c) of this title.
            ``(G) The results of resident surveys conducted under 
        section 2887(d) of this title.''.

SEC. 4. PRESUMPTIONS OF SERVICE CONNECTION FOR ILLNESSES ASSOCIATED 
              WITH RESIDING IN PRIVATE 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 private 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 private 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 
        private military housing unit during service in the Armed 
        Forces.
    ``(3) For purposes of this subsection, a veteran who resided in a 
private 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 private 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) Private Military Housing Unit Defined.--In this section, the 
term `private 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 private military 
                            housing.''.

SEC. 5. HOSPITAL CARE, MEDICAL SERVICES, AND NURSING HOME CARE FOR 
              FAMILY MEMBERS OF VETERANS WHO RESIDED IN PRIVATE 
              MILITARY HOUSING.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter VIII of chapter 17 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1786 following new 
section:
``Sec. 1786A. Health care of family members of veterans who resided in 
              private 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 private 
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 private 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 `private 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 
1786 the following new item:

``1786A. Health care of family members of veterans who resided in 
                            private military housing.''.

SEC. 6. ETHICAL LIMITATIONS RELATING TO OWNERSHIP OF PRIVATE 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-6.
    ``(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. 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.
                                 <all>