Wnited States Senate WASHINGTON, DC 20510 February 28, 2019 ‘The Honorable Richard Spencer Secretary of the Navy 1000 Navy Pentagon, Room 4D652 Washington, DC 20350 Dear Secretary Spencer: ‘We write today to follow up on previous letters we have written to military leadership about alleged pervasive health hazards in private military housing across the country, and to request information regarding private Navy and Marine Corps housing in Virginia, including NAS Oceana, Naval Station Norfolk, Quantico, as well as the other Navy and Marine Corps installations in Virginia that have relationships with Lincoln Military Housing, a residential real estate management company. As you know, Lincoln Military Housing manages 36,000 military family homes nationwide, including more than 5,700 units at Dahlgren, Wallops, Quantico, and throughout Hampton Roads for Navy and Marine Corps servicemembers. A November investigation by Reuters revealed significant problems in base housing such as cockroaches, mice, mold and leaks, and described the difficulty that military families have encountered in getting the private management ‘companies that own and operate the housing to address issues posing health hazards for families living in the homes. This is not the first time that unhealthy conditions in military housing have been documented. In November 2011, Senator Warner was made aware of similar complaints regarding mold in private military housing in the Hampton Roads area in Virginia. Working with Navy officials, and impacted military families, Senator Warner strove to ensure that both the Navy and Lincoln Military Housing implemented a plan to reduce these hazards. As aresult, Lincoln Military Housing agreed to offer free mold inspection to any resident requesting the service, to hire an independent professional engineering firm to survey the conditions, to update training for maintenance teams and more. The Navy also committed to improving tracking tools and enhancing oversight of property management performance. Unfortunately, it appears that these changes were insufficient or ignored. ‘As indicated by recent testimony to the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, where Senator Kaine serves as Ranking Member, these health hazards continue. As a result, we have sent letters expressing our deep concerns over its findings, and pressed the Department of Defense for immediate and long-term mitigation strategies to ensure military housing is safe and secure for our servicemembers and their families, and to provide legislative proposals or ‘guidance on legislation needed to ensure that there is inereased accountability for private companies.‘The health and safety of our servicemembers and their families are of the utmost importance. Our nation’s military families deserve safe and healthy housing, and itis imperative that the ‘Navy and Marine Corps alleviate these issues. As you work to develop a plan addressing this health crisis, we request the following information: 1, Copies of the contracts - with the appropriate redaction of competition-sensitive information — currently in place at Naval and Marine Corps installations in Virginia for Lincoln Military Housing; 2. Copies of the service- or department-level guidance and policy documents that relate directly to contracting for on-base privatized housing; 3. Copies of the standard operating procedures for responding to and rectifying mold/mildew and other habitability, safety, and health complaints in government-owned housing; and 4, Any information on whether cure notices were sent to Lincoln Military Housing for failure to adhere to their contractual obligations at Virginia installations. ‘Thank you for your attention to this serious matter. We look forward to your timely response. Sincerely, Ss MARK R. WARNER TIMKAINE United States Senator United States Senator