NORFOLK, Va. — 'We're going to fix this."
That's the promise from Virginia Senator Tim Kaine after he toured privatized military housing near Naval Station Norfolk and met with concerned tenants.
The visit came one day after a high-profile hearing in Washington about the unsafe and unhealthy living conditions that military members and their families face.
"When you move in and the unit hasn't been cleaned and it's trashed and two of the three toilets don't even operate, I mean, did somebody even check, did somebody even do a walk-through of this place?" Kaine asked.
Horror stories abounded during a tour of three privatized military housing units near Naval Station Norfolk and a meeting with 16 tenants.
"The people feel as if they can't get help. I mean," said Kaine. "I mean, these are military families that are often moved to locations where they know no one, with a spouse that's deployed."
He spoke of one family he met with a leaky roof, but that wasn't their biggest problem.
"They're very worried about the health of their baby and there is unacceptable ventilation with a next door unit and the smell of smoke pervades their unit and even though they're non-smokers and they worry about second-hand smoke effect on their baby," Kaine said.
Today's observations came on top of prior Congressional testimony of mold, water damage and rodent and insect infestations.
The service secretaries and the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairmen have vowed to solve the problems proposing, among other things, a tenant bill of rights.
Kaine and Virginia Senator Mark Warner have now signed onto a bill that would allow tenants, by law, to withhold housing allowance payments from property management companies if problems aren't resolved.
"Why can't they, like in other circumstances, withhold some if there is not adequate response or repair of challenges," Kaine remarked. "So the bill does a number of things, mostly to engage in those kinds of self-help activities if they're not hearing from people."
The commander of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic said while the civilian property management companies do need to step up, so too must the military.
"Although we can outsource our privatized housing, we can't outsource the responsibility and obligation of leadership to ensure the well-being of our families and our sailors," said Rear Admiral Chip Rock. "And to some extent, I think we've done that."