ATLANTA – Junior enlisted military personnel would receive a higher housing allowance under bipartisan legislation introduced in Congress this week by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.
Ossoff led an eight-month investigation last year that called attention to the poor condition of privatized housing at the Army’s Fort Gordon near Augusta. During that time, he said he heard from many military families about the challenges of finding affordable housing in their communities.
“Military families make immense sacrifices in our national defense,” Ossoff told reporters Friday during a news conference. “Junior uniformed personnel are not well paid. Their housing allowance is too low. This bipartisan legislation will modernize the formula the Department of Defense uses.”
Currently, the military is not permitted to take local housing costs into account in determining the housing allowance for junior enlisted personnel. The bill he and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are sponsoring would replace a “rigid and antiquated” formula with a more flexible housing allowance, Ossoff said.
Ossoff said he will push to get the bill included as part of the annual Defense Authorization Act Congress will take up later this year.