Congress raises alarm on aging military barracks, housing

Lawmakers are upset about deteriorating military barracks and housing conditions, expressing serious concerns about delayed repairs and failing conditions, including mold and nonfunctioning air conditioning and heating units.

The issue was amplified this week after Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) threatened to withhold all Army civilian nominations that require Senate confirmation, or the most senior positions within the military branch.

Hawley blasted the Army for what he called a “continual failure to keep its promises to the soldiers and families of Fort Leonard Wood” in Missouri, upset that more than 1,000 family homes are in disrepair and a pledge of $41 million to repair them has yet to be fulfilled.

“The Army’s inability to meet its own deadlines is unacceptable, and I will wait no longer,” Hawley wrote to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth. “The soldiers and families at Fort Leonard Wood deserve better, and it is your responsibility to deliver for them.”

More broadly, lawmakers are upset after a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report last month found the Defense Department is failing to maintain living conditions, with thousands of servicemembers living below standard conditions.

The GAO flagged that the Pentagon does not adequately inspect barracks and housing, fails to conduct oversight of repairs and struggles to track funding for related housing projects.

Auditors found broken windows and inoperable fire systems, poor water quality, pest infestations and severe mold growth. They also identified a problem with crime in the community.

“Enlisted servicemembers from all military services told us poor living conditions
negatively affect work performance, training, and [the Pentagon’s] ability to recruit qualified personnel,” auditors wrote in the report.

The GAO issued 31 recommendations, such as updating minimum standards inside the barracks and conducting more proper living condition reviews, most of which the Pentagon agreed to implement.

After the report, 17 senators and representatives sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, saying the military was “failing to provide the most basic oversight and care of barracks facilities located at ten installations.”

“The GAO report provided an embarrassing list of failures they found when inspecting these buildings,” the bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote. “It is clear that there are failures at all levels. Across the enterprise, personnel are shirking their responsibilities to provide service members with safe, habitable living spaces.”