[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 123 (Thursday, July 17, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S4487]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2952. Mr. WARNOCK submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the end of subtitle B of title XXVIII, add the 
     following:

     SEC. 2827. IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPTROLLER GENERAL 
                   RECOMMENDATIONS RELATING TO CRITICAL MILITARY 
                   HOUSING SUPPLY AND AFFORDABILITY.

       (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall 
     implement each recommendation of the Comptroller General of 
     the United States contained in the report dated October 30, 
     2024, and entitled, ``Military Housing: DOD Should Address 
     Critical Supply and Affordability Challenges for Service 
     Members'' (GAO-25-106208), as those recommendations are 
     modified under subsection (b).
       (b) Recommendations To Be Implemented.--In carrying out the 
     requirements under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense 
     shall implement the recommendations specified under such 
     subsection as follows:
       (1) The Secretary shall--
       (A) perform a structured analysis to develop a 
     comprehensive list of housing areas in which members of the 
     Armed Forces and their families may face the most critical 
     challenges in finding and affording private sector housing in 
     the community;
       (B) in conducting the analysis under subparagraph (A), 
     consider the unique characteristics of a location, such as 
     vacation rental areas; and
       (C) regularly update the list required under subparagraph 
     (A) not less frequently than once every two years.
       (2) The Secretary shall obtain and use feedback on the 
     financial and quality-of-life effects of limited supply or 
     unaffordable housing on members of the Armed Forces, through 
     the status of forces survey and other service or 
     installation-specific feedback mechanisms.
       (3) The Secretary shall, in coordination with the Secretary 
     of each military department--
       (A) develop a plan for how the Department of Defense can 
     respond to and address the financial and quality-of-life 
     effects in housing areas identified under paragraph (1); and
       (B) in developing the plan under subparagraph (A), examine 
     strategies for increasing housing supply or providing 
     alternative compensation to offset the effects of limited 
     supply or unaffordable housing in housing areas identified 
     under paragraph (1).
       (4) The Secretary shall clarify, through the issuance of 
     guidance to the military departments, the role of the Office 
     of the Secretary of Defense in oversight of the Housing 
     Requirements and Market Analysis process of the military 
     departments to ensure that--
       (A) the military departments conduct such process in a 
     timely manner; and
       (B) the Secretary submits to Congress any plans or other 
     matters relating to such process for each fiscal year as 
     required by existing law.
       (5) The Secretary shall ensure that the Assistant Secretary 
     of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment 
     provides updated guidance to the military departments on how 
     installations of the Department of Defense should coordinate 
     with local communities, including by clearly defining the 
     roles and responsibilities of commanders and military housing 
     offices of such installations in addressing housing needs.
       (c) Non-implementation Reporting Requirement.--If the 
     Secretary of Defense elects not to implement a recommendation 
     specified under subsection (a), as modified under subsection 
     (b), the Secretary shall, not later than one year after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, submit to the Committees 
     on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives a report that includes a justification for 
     such election.
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