Sen. Ossoff and a bipartisan group of Georgia’s lawmakers are pressing the Department of Defense (DoD) to tackle the months-long wait times Georgia military families are experiencing when looking for housing
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff and Congressman Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA-01) are leading a bipartisan push to reduce housing wait times for Georgia military families.
Sen. Ossoff and Rep. Carter, alongside Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock and Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr (GA-02), are launching an inquiry with Department of Defense Secretary Austin to address the long wait times military families are facing during their permanent change of station (PCS) move.
According to some military housing advocates, Georgia’s military families are waiting several weeks to move into adequate housing options on Georgia’s bases. Servicemembers, however, are only compensated for less than two weeks of temporary lodging.
“Due to wait times that far exceed the time a military family spends on PCS status, our constituents are experiencing unacceptable costs that often exceed the prevailing BAH rate, necessitating out-of-pocket expenses to house their families and for other living expenses such as food and the storage of belongings,” the Georgia members wrote. “We ask that you provide additional information on DoD’s housing wait list policies, what the Department is doing to mitigate excessive wait times, and what support DoD does and does not provide to families experiencing wait times greater than 10 days from their date of arrival at the gaining installation.”
Servicemembers and their families are expected to use their basic allowance for housing (BAH) to pay for any housing costs beyond 14 days, placing an undue burden on military families to front these costs.
The bipartisan group is also calling on the DoD to provide base-specific data on the housing waitlists at Georgia’s military installations, including the number of servicemembers still on the list and the duration of time they have each waited for housing.
Click here to read the lawmakers’ inquiry.
