Bennet, Hickenlooper, Warnock, Colleagues Urge Defense Department to Protect Colorado Servicemembers, Military Families from Inadequate Private Base Housing

Press Release

Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper joined U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and several colleagues in a new oversight effort to protect the nation's servicemembers from unsanitary, unsafe living conditions at military base housing facilities operated by Balfour Beatty Communities (BBC) LLC. This follows a recent $65 million settlement between the U.S. government and the private housing company.

In a letter to the Department of Defense (DoD), the senators asked DoD to provide additional information regarding how it will conduct proper oversight of BBC's private military housing communities after the company pleaded guilty to falsifying upkeep and resident satisfaction records as well as neglecting servicemembers' maintenance requests. In light of the recent settlement, the senators' letter pushes DoD for solutions that will further protect servicemembers from poor and unkempt private housing, and regain servicemembers' trust in BBC's privately-owned housing units across the country.

"Given that BBC continues to manage housing communities at 55 installations across the nation and has several decades left on their long-term contracts, we ask the following questions about how this settlement will affect the management of these properties and how DoD plans to ensure quality housing for military families moving forward," wrote Bennet, Hickenlooper, Warnock, and their colleagues.

BBC manages housing communities at 55 military installations across the U.S., including at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

In addition to Bennet, Hickenlooper, and Warnock, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).

The full text of the letter is available HERE and below.

Source