{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://carbajal.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3091", "Carbajal-Thompson Bill to Improve Conditions in Military Housing on Track to Become Law", "2024-12-12", "2024", "2024-12", "Democrat", "House", "CA", "Salud O. Carbajal", "C001112", "carbajal.house.gov", "carbajal", "https://carbajal.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "Legislation sponsored by Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) and Glenn \u201cGT\u201d Thompson (PA-15) to improve military families\u2019 ability to compare housing options and identify subpar living conditions was approved yesterday by the U.S. House of Representatives.\n\nThe Military Housing Transparency and Accountability Act was included in this year\u2019s annual defense policy legislation that was finalized this week and is expected to become law by the end of the month.\n\n\"Our servicemembers \u2013 who sacrifice so much to protect our country \u2013 deserve reliable and safe housing for themselves and their families. However, too often I hear stories of military housing not meeting those standards,\" Rep. Carbajal said. \u201cAs a veteran, I\u2019m proud to see this bipartisan solution to improve housing conditions and accountability on its way to becoming law. By providing a way for servicemembers to see and compare housing options, and to report issues and hazards in real-time, we can improve housing conditions for every military family.\"\n\n\u201cAs an Army dad, I know first-hand the challenges our service men and women face when finding safe and comfortable housing,\u201d Rep. Thompson said. \u201cThey should feel confident if an issue arises it will be resolved in a timely manner. Adoption of this provision is a step in the right direction and will improve transparency and oversight. I thank my friend Salud Carbajal for his partnership in making this happen.\u201d\n\nFor several years, military housing has been plagued with widespread complaints of neglect and unsafe conditions such as mold, lead-based paint, asbestos, poor water quality and sewage, and careless repairs.\n\nTo address the lack of information servicemembers have on military housing, Congress previously directed the Secretary of Defense to develop a centralized assessment tool for members of the Armed Forces and their family members to identify, rate, and compare housing options.\n\nWhile a step in the right direction to improve the living conditions for servicemembers and their families, it did not cover all military housing and provided little oversight requirements. Additionally, the Department of Defense has yet to implement this tool.\n\nThe Military Housing Transparency and Accountability Act, introduced by Carbajal and Thompson in May 2023, will expand access to the tool, upon implementation, to all servicemembers and their dependents, as well as enhance the reporting requirements to ensure accountability.\n\nThe bill will also enable servicemembers to report issues in real-time and find swift resolutions to inadequate conditions.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T22:13:55Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://carbajal.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3091"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7055179923772812, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}