Sinema And Kelly Raise Questions About Military Housing Contracts

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Arizona senators Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly were two of 17 senators who signed a letter to the Defense Department on Tuesday requesting information about long-term military housing contracts.

The move comes after Balfour Beatty Communities LLC (BBC), a private housing contractor operating military housing communities, pleaded guilty to fraud against the United States last month. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, BBC falsified performance data and destroyed resident comment cards in order to collect performance incentive fees

BBC agreed to pay more than $65 million in fines and restitution for the scheme and also will serve three years of probation and engage an independent compliance monitor for a period of three years.

"Arizona military families deserve responsive and respectful housing services, and we're holding the federal government accountable to ensure it delivers to Arizona servicemembers," Sinema said.

According to the letter, BBC continues to operate military housing communities at 55 military installations across the country, including Luke Air Force Base in Maricopa County.

The group of senators has asked the Defense Department for clarification about what it means for BCC's current contract at the 55 military installations following the settlement requiring BBC to be on 3 years probation and engage with an independent compliance monitor.

The senators also have asked what mechanisms are in place to ensure this fraudulent behavior does not happen again.

"How does the Department of Defense plan to instill trust in military families that BBC
and others will meet their housing needs?" the senators asked in the letter.

The senators concluded the letter by writing: "Our nation’s servicemembers and military families deserve to live in quality housing and trust that the U.S. government and private contractors will be responsive, respectful and committed to meeting their needs."

Among the other senators signing the letter were: Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, both of Georgia, Tammy Duckworth, of Illinois, John Hickenlooper, of Colorado, Dianne Feinstein of California and Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, both of New Mexico.

All the senators who signed the letter were Democrats except Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who is an Independent.