Washington, D.C July 8, 2024 – Better Homes for Heroes (BHH) applauds Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) and the twelve bipartisan members who recently sent a letter to Secretary Christine Wormuth, urging her to address the state of indoor environmental conditions in Army barracks and housing.
In the letter, lawmakers call attention to the recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that unveiled the unlivable conditions within military barracks. These conditions included evidence of mold, PFAS, and other harmful contaminants that pose significant health risks to the safety of our warfighters. Substandard indoor environmental conditions call for immediate solutions to be implemented and conditions to be rectified expeditiously. The letter states, “While the Army invests in long-term construction plans for new housing facilities, we must prioritize portfolio-wide solutions that can be implemented without delay across existing barracks and other housing units to address critical indoor health categories for all service members.”
Representative Hudson and his colleagues underscore the successful implementation of scalable, cost-effective solutions at Fort Meade and Fort Liberty that improved indoor air, humidity, light, and water quality within privatized housing units. The work done at Fort Meade and Fort Liberty depicts an exemplary model of how solutions, grounded on third-party testing and health-based scientific studies, can be scaled throughout the Army.
Better Homes for Heroes is honored to work alongside these Representatives in demanding the Army’s attention on this important matter. BHH strives to uplift our service members and their families’ stories, while advocating for sufficient resources to provide safe, clean housing. BHH is encouraged by this letter and looks forward to Secretary Christine Wormuth’s timely response.
The full letter can be found HERE.
Hudson is joined by Representatives Don Bacon (R-NE), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Tom Kean, Jr.(R-NJ), August Pfluger (R-TX), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Brian Mast (R-FL), Pat Fallon (R-TX), Greg Pence (R-IN), Beth Van Duyne (R-TX), Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA).