WASHINGTON — When it comes to housing for America's troops and their families, some progress had been made, but work remains to be done, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Private-sector companies own and operate about 99% of homes on military installations in the United States.
In 2018, public hearings revealed systemic issues with on-base military housing run by private companies, including widespread mold, rodent infestations, dangerous wiring and shoddy repairs.
The GAO reports that the Defense Department has made some progress in implementing 15 of 30 recommendations in the Military Housing Privatization Initiative, but more must be done.
"We have an ongoing audit right now, looking at the steps the department has taken to strengthen the program, but the question about whether those steps are working really remains to be seen," said Elizabeth Field, a director in GAO's Defense Capabilities and Management team.
Field said it's critical that the housing deficiencies be addressed.
"There's a real readiness implication to this as well because if things are not okay at home, it's hard to focus on the mission at hand. So that's another element to this as well."
According to the GAO report, the Department of Justice recently investigated alleged wrongdoing by two of the largest private housing companies. Those investigations resulted in one company pleading guilty to defrauding the government and paying over $65 million in civil liability.
The other company reached a settlement with DOJ and agreed to pay $500,000.
Both cases involved allegations that the private housing companies falsified data in order to fraudulently induce inflated performance incentive fees from the military departments.
On an up note, the GAO reports that the congressionally-mandated 18-point Tenant Bill of Rights has been implemented at all but five of nearly 200 military bases with privatized housing.