Bipartisan House, Senate Lawmakers Push for Improvements to Military Housing
NORWICH, CT – RealEstateRama – Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) and Del. James Moylan (R-Guam), alongside Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), are pushing for new legislation to improve the health and safety of military housing.
In 2023, the Army found mold in more than 2,000 of its facilities after a service-wide inspection. That same year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that service members in all twelve groups that the GAO interviewed considered mold to be a problem in barracks. For example, one servicemember that the GAO interviewed reported having had three visits to the emergency room due to respiratory issues attributed to the presence of mold in their barracks.
The lawmakers’ bill, Healthy at Home on Base Act, would support servicemembers living in military housing – as well as their families – by improving research on toxic mold in military housing on base. The bill would also create habitability standards for mold on military installations. Lastly, the bill would instate construction requirements for new housing on military installations so that servicemembers and their families are not becoming sick from preventable causes like toxic mold.
“The Healthy at Home on Base Act directly contributes to our efforts on the House Armed Services Committee to make generational improvements to servicemembers’ quality of life,” said Courtney. “Far too many servicemembers and their families are living in barracks and military housing with toxic mold that poses serious health concerns. Our bipartisan, bicameral bill will provide the structural changes to rehab and prevent unhealthy conditions. I urge my colleagues in the Senate and House Armed Services Committees to include this measure in the final defense bill.”
“Representing a part of the United States which is frequently hit by typhoons, I understand how important it is for servicemembers to live in a safe, healthy, mold free home. Mr. Courtney has been a consistent partner, working with me to ensure adequate living conditions for our brave men and women in uniform. I thank him for his leadership on this issue and plan on continued collaboration to support military families across the nation from Connecticut to Guam,” said Moylan.
“We have a duty to our servicemembers and their families to ensure they have access to safe and healthy living conditions. Too many of our nation’s servicemembers—who make sacrifices every day in service to our country—have been subject to toxic mold and other dangerous conditions in military housing, often leading to preventable illnesses. With the Healthy at Home on Base Act, we make critical strides to improve the safety of military housing, making sure that the brave men and women who protect our nation are able to reside in healthy and hospitable housing,” said Blumenthal.
“Ensuring the brave men and women who serve our country have a safe, healthy place to live is the least we can do. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation would take important steps to address toxic mold and ensure military housing meets the standards our servicemembers and their families deserve,” said Murphy.
This measure was included in the House-passed FY25 National Defense Authorization Act. Earlier this month, lawmakers sent a letter to defense leaders in the House and Senate urging them to maintain the measure in the final, negotiated NDAA, which is expected to come before the Congress next month.
In the House, the Healthy at Home on Base Act is led by Rep. Joe Courtney and Del. James Moylan and co-sponsored by Reps.: Jen Kiggans (R-VA), Nikema Williams (R-GA), Richard Hudson (R-NC), Gabe Amo (D-RI), John Larson (D-CT), Blake Moore (R-UT), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Morgan McGarvey (D-KY), Greg Murphy (R-NC), Jill Tokuda (D-HI), Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Buddy Carter (R-GA), Ed Case (D-HI), Seth Magaziner (D-RI), Jason Crow (D-CO) and Mike Turner (R-OH).
In the Senate, the bill is led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT).
The bill is endorsed by: Military Housing Coalition, Better Homes for Heroes, National Environmental Health Association, Change the Air Foundation, and Hots&Cots.
