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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3654 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3654
To improve housing and environmental health and safety protections for
members of the Armed Forces and their families residing in military
family housing, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 15, 2026
Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Mr. Sheehy, Ms. Ernst, and Ms. Hirono)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve housing and environmental health and safety protections for
members of the Armed Forces and their families residing in military
family housing, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Military Occupancy Living Defense
Act'' or the ``MOLD Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Secretary of Defense should establish and implement
a uniform code of basic housing standards for safety, comfort,
and habitability for privatized military housing, which meets
or exceeds requirements informed by a nationally recognized,
consensus-based, model property maintenance code.
(2) Thousands of military families living in privatized
military housing have been exposed to hazardous environmental
conditions, including widespread mold contamination, due to
negligent maintenance practices and inadequate government
oversight.
(3) Military families frequently shoulder the financial
burden of environmental hazards, often paying out-of-pocket for
temporary relocation, the loss of personal property, medical
expenses, and long-term health evaluations and treatments.
(4) Unsafe housing conditions undermine military readiness
by forcing members of the Armed Forces to divert time and
attention from their duties to manage health and housing
emergencies, jeopardizing mission performance, morale, and unit
cohesion.
(5) The lack of consistent, independent audits,
inspections, and performance assessments of privatized military
housing has enabled poor contractor accountability, resulting
in ongoing maintenance failures and tenant harm.
(6) The use of non-disclosure agreements by providers of
privatized military housing to silence tenants reporting unsafe
conditions obstructs transparency, suppresses awareness of
systemic failures, and impedes efforts to hold contractors
accountable.
(7) Available data from medical reports, tenant surveys,
and documentation by the Department of Defense strongly suggest
that prolonged exposure to mold in privatized military housing
is linked to higher rates of respiratory illness, neurological
symptoms, and developmental issues in children, underscoring
the urgent need for comprehensive environmental health
protections.
(8) As of the date of the enactment of this Act, the
TRICARE program (as defined in section 1072 of title 10, United
States Code) does not cover mold-related medical expenses,
including diagnostic testing for mycotoxin exposure or long-
term treatment for illnesses caused or exacerbated by mold,
leaving military families without adequate support for housing-
related health conditions.
(9) Approximately 700,000 members of the Armed Forces and
their families reside in privatized military housing operated
by 14 companies across 78 developments in the United States.
(10) Several providers of privatized military housing have
been implicated in fraud schemes in recent years, including one
company that pled guilty in 2021 to defrauding the Department
of Defense by falsifying maintenance records, and another that
reached a $500,000 Federal settlement in 2022, without
admitting guilt, for similar misconduct.
SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF MINIMUM HEALTH AND SAFETY
STANDARDS FOR MILITARY FAMILY HOUSING.
(a) Standards.--
(1) Initial guidance.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Defense shall issue interim guidance for acceptable
levels of relative humidity, ventilation, dampness, and
water intrusion to be applied at all covered housing.
(B) Effect.--Interim guidance issued under
subparagraph (A) shall remain in effect until final
standards are published under paragraph (2).
(2) Final standards.--Not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense
shall issue final standards for acceptable levels of relative
humidity, ventilation, dampness, and water intrusion to be
applied at all covered housing, which shall include--
(A) acceptable levels of relative humidity indoors;
(B) required ventilation and moisture control
measures;
(C) environmental inspection and testing methods;
and
(D) the standard of care for mold remediation
adopted under subsection (g).
(3) Reporting and availability of testing.--The final
standards established under paragraph (2) shall require results
of environmental inspection and testing methods under
subparagraph (C) of such paragraph to be reported to the
Secretary of Defense and made available to tenants of affected
housing units not later than 10 days after sample collection.
(b) Certification of Compliance.--Not less frequently than
annually, each housing office of the Department shall certify to
Congress that the housing office is in compliance with health and
safety standards for covered housing required under this section.
(c) Establishment of Independent Inspection Protocol for Privatized
Military Housing.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall
ensure that each installation of the Department of Defense
conducts, using independent certified third-party inspectors,
mold and environmental health inspections for all covered
housing that is privatized military housing--
(A) upon every tenant turnover of a housing unit;
(B) upon receipt of any tenant complaint regarding
safety and habitability of a housing unit; and
(C) following any remediation effort, structural
repair, or response to an identified environmental
hazard at a housing unit.
(2) Elements of inspections.--Inspections conducted under
paragraph (1) shall include, at minimum--
(A) evaluation of heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning (HVAC) systems, plumbing, electrical
systems, and structural integrity;
(B) inspection for signs of water intrusion,
dampness, humidity, visible or non-visible mold,
microbial growth, and other indoor air quality
concerns;
(C) review of current and past work order records
and completion timelines; and
(D) review of contractor compliance with privatized
military housing contract requirements and housing
regulations of the Department of Defense.
(3) Recording and maintenance of records.--All findings of
inspections conducted under paragraph (1) shall be--
(A) recorded in a standardized Federal Government
inspection record;
(B) certified by the inspector with a clear
``pass'' or ``fail'' status;
(C) maintained in an accessible, historical housing
record for each housing unit; and
(D) made available to the relevant installation
commander and military housing office.
(4) Documentation and submission of results.--The commander
of each installation of the Department shall--
(A) document results of inspections conducted under
paragraph (1); and
(B) submit the results of such inspections to--
(i) the Secretary;
(ii) the Office of Inspector General of the
Department of Defense; and
(iii) the Committees on Armed Services of
the Senate and the House of Representatives.
(5) Access and transparency.--Inspection reports certified
under paragraph (3)(B) and housing history records required
under paragraph (3)(C) shall be--
(A) provided in full to current tenants of the
inspected unit;
(B) made available upon request to any incoming
tenants; and
(C) maintained in a secure portal accessible to
staff of the relevant military housing office, the
Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the
House of Representatives, and military family advocacy
personnel.
(6) Remediation or tenant relocation.--In the case of a
housing unit failing inspection conducted under paragraph (1),
the Secretary shall ensure that the unit is remediated or the
tenants of such unit are relocated not later than 30 days after
such failed inspection, if such tenants wish to be relocated.
(d) Complaint and Response Mechanism.--
(1) Hotline and website.--The Secretary shall modify the
Defense Housing Feedback System, or successor system, to ensure
that such system contains a tenant complaint hotline and
website that is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week
for reporting humidity, water damage, or other hazards in
covered housing.
(2) Website information.--The website required under
paragraph (1) shall contain information on the complaints made
under paragraph (1), disaggregated by installation and with any
personally identifying information redacted.
(3) Response.--Each housing office for an installation of
the Department shall--
(A) respond to complaints of tenants of covered
housing not later than five business days after the
complaint;
(B) track progress of such response until
resolution; and
(C) provide to tenants written confirmation of
inspection findings and actions taken.
(e) Requirements for Privatized Military Housing.--
(1) Health and safety standards for military housing.--The
Secretary of each military department shall ensure that all
housing project agreements and renewals for privatized military
housing under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned
entered into on or after the date of the enactment of this Act
are compliant with the appropriate environmental health and
safety standards established by the Department of Defense.
(2) Future contract agreements and renewals.--For all
housing project agreements and renewals for privatized military
housing entered into on or after the date of the enactment of
this Act, and to the extent practicable for agreements in place
as of such date of enactment, not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense
shall incorporate enforceable provisions related to
environmental hazard response, inspection, and tenant
relocation protections which shall include--
(A) enforceable environmental health and safety
clauses; and
(B) requirements that providers of privatized
military housing bear full financial responsibility
for--
(i) required third-party inspections;
(ii) maintenance;
(iii) mold remediation;
(iv) all relocation expenses for military
families forced to vacate uninhabitable units;
(v) property loss; and
(vi) refunding any amounts paid through a
basic allowance for housing under section 403
of title 37, United States Code, for military
families forced to vacate uninhabitable units.
(f) Certification Requirements for Mold Assessment and
Remediation.--The Secretary shall ensure that all maintenance
personnel, contracted mold assessors, indoor environmental
professionals, and mold remediators responsible for assessing or
remediating mold and water damage in covered housing shall possess and
maintain current certifications issued by a nationally recognized,
third-party, nonprofit certifying body, which may include the
following:
(1) The Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration
Certification.
(2) The National Organization of Remediators and Microbial
Inspectors.
(3) The American Council for Accredited Certification.
(g) Standard of Care for Mold Remediation.--All mold remediation
activities conducted in covered housing shall comply with the American
National Standards Institute and Institute of Inspection Cleaning and
Restoration Certification S520 Standard for Professional Mold
Remediation, Fourth Edition, or any subsequent edition published by the
Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification or
successor organization.
(h) Issuance of Guidance.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall--
(1) issue guidance with respect to the implementation of
this section; and
(2) provide written notification to all providers of
privatized military housing regarding the requirements of this
section.
(i) Quarterly Reporting Requirement.--
(1) Designation of chief housing officer.--The Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment
shall serve as Chief Housing Officer and shall receive, review,
and compile reports from military housing offices across all
installations of the Department of Defense.
(2) Military housing office reporting.--Not less frequently
than quarterly, each chief of a military housing office shall
submit to the Chief Housing Officer designated under paragraph
(1) a report that includes, at a minimum--
(A) the number and type of tenant complaints
received;
(B) an assessment of work order volume and average
completion time;
(C) an identification of instances of unresolved or
recurring maintenance issues;
(D) an identification of environmental hazard
notifications and the status of the remediation of such
hazards;
(E) a summary of compliance by contractors with
requirements of the Department and any violations of
those requirements;
(F) any reports of retaliation, discrimination,
displacement, or housing-related medical concerns (with
personal information redacted if requested); and
(G) a summary of command-level awareness or action
on housing issues.
(3) Compilation and congressional submission.--
(A) In general.--The Chief Housing Officer shall--
(i) compile the reports received under
paragraph (2);
(ii) submit to the Committees on Armed
Services of the Senate and the House of
Representatives such compiled reports not less
frequently than quarterly and not less
frequently than annually for the quarter or
year covered by the report, as the case may be;
and
(iii) provide to the Committees on Armed
Services of the Senate and the House of
Representatives briefings regarding each report
submitted under clause (ii).
(B) Briefings.--Briefings required under
subparagraph (A)(iii) shall include trend analysis,
contractor performance insights, and risk flags based
on installation-level conditions.
(4) Data transparency and retention.--
(A) Format.--The Secretary shall ensure that all
reporting required under this subsection follows a
standardized Federal format.
(B) Retention of information.--The Secretary shall
ensure that all raw data, logs, and supporting
documentation for reports required under this
subsection are retained for a period of not less than
five years.
(C) Availability of data sets.--The Secretary may
make available to tenant ombudsmen or Federal housing
liaison offices data sets used to prepare reports under
this subsection with personally identifiable
information redacted.
(5) Enforcement.--In the case of a landlord (as defined in
section 2871 of title 10, United States Code) or other private
sector entity that fails to comply with any requirement
established to comply with this subsection, the Secretary may--
(A) notify command leadership of the relevant
installation of the Department;
(B) conduct an audit or performance review; and
(C) in the case of systemic failure to comply with
any such requirement, suspend eligibility of such
landlord or entity for housing-related bonuses.
(j) Public Reporting Requirements.--Not later than one year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the
Senate and the House of Representatives and publish on a publicly
available website of the Department of Defense, with respect to covered
housing--
(1) the number of mold complaints received, disaggregated
by installation of the Department;
(2) the results of inspections under this section and
compliance rates;
(3) remediation timelines and costs; and
(4) the number of relocations made.
(k) Sense of Congress on Health Risks Associated With Mold.--It is
the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Defense, in collaboration
with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, should evaluate the
health impacts of mold exposure in military housing and consider
appropriate medical responses and coverage under existing health care
systems.
(l) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Acceptable levels of relative humidity.--The term
``acceptable levels of relative humidity'', with respect to an
area, means an area with humidity levels that are less than 50
percent.
(2) Covered housing.--The term ``covered housing'' means
any military family housing owned, leased, or managed by the
Department of Defense, including privatized military housing.
(3) Environmental inspection and testing methods.--The term
``environmental inspection and testing methods'' means detailed
visual inspection substantiated by mold testing measures that
include air sampling, tape lifts, swabs, and carpet samples,
and official laboratory analysis of such samples.
(4) Mold.--The term ``mold'' means any form of multi-
cellular fungi found in water-damaged indoor environments and
building materials, including, cladosporium, penicillium,
alternaria, aspergillus, fusarium, chaetomium, trichoderma,
memnoniella, mucor, stachybotrys chartarum, streptomyces, and
epicoccumoften.
(5) Privatized military housing.--The term ``privatized
military housing'' means military housing under subchapter IV
of chapter 169 of title 10, United States Code.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
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