Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff’s bipartisan bill to help young military families in Georgia afford housing is now law.
Sen. Ossoff’s bipartisan Junior Enlisted Housing Affordability Act with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) will update how the Department of Defense (DoD) calculates housing allowances for junior enlisted servicemembers with dependents to more accurately assess their housing costs.
The bipartisan bill was signed into law as part of this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Prior to the passage of the Junior Enlisted Housing Affordability Act, the DoD tied housing allowance for junior enlisted servicemembers with dependents to the costs of only two specific housing types (two-bedroom townhomes and apartments), which can lead to inaccurate estimates for what is needed for young military families to afford quality housing in their communities.
“When I sit down with junior-enlisted personnel and young military families, the cost of housing is a key issue,” Sen. Ossoff said. “When servicemembers and their families can’t afford to live near the installation where they train and where they’re stationed, that has an impact on readiness. I brought Republicans and Democrats together to pass the Junior Enlisted Housing Affordability Act into law to help junior-enlisted personnel and military families afford housing.”
Sen. Ossoff continues to champion Georgia’s servicemembers and military families.
Earlier this year, a key provision of Sen. Ossoff’s bipartisan Military Facilities Upgrades Act with Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) was signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which will upgrade old and failing barracks by giving the Armed Services the flexibility to use operations and maintenance (O&M) funding to replace barracks deemed to be in substandard condition.
Over the last two years, Sen. Ossoff has led several bipartisan investigations into the mistreatment and neglect of military families living in privatized housing on Ft. Gordon, highlighting the misconduct that many families faced while living in these housing units.
Last year, Sen. Ossoff worked across the aisle to successfully secure resources through the FY23 NDAA to upgrade barracks, daycare centers, and other facilities for military families in Georgia and across the nation.
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