MFAN, Partners Urge DoD to Restore Basic Allowance for Housing

Co-signed by over 40 organizations that serve military and veteran families, the Military Family Advisory Network (MFAN) submitted a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Friday, February 24, 2023, encouraging the Department of Defense to fully restore the Basic Allowance for Housing to 100 percent.

 

The letter is a result of months of collaboration between private, public, and nonprofit leaders—compiling research and insights from the military community to demonstrate why BAH restoration would help further strengthen the economic security of service members and their families. It is also authored from a place of shared interests to inform Pentagon leaders ahead of a Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) deadline which requires DoD to submit a report on BAH restoration to Congress by March 1, 2023.

 

The full letter text can be found below and here.

 

February 24, 2023

 

The Honorable Lloyd J. Austin III
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1000

 

Dear Secretary Austin,

 

The undersigned organizations, who share your commitment to supporting service members and their families, applaud the Department of Defense (DoD) for the progress being made in strengthening the economic security of military families.

 

We are writing to you today to encourage DoD to restore the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) to the full 100 percent—a step that would create a positive ripple effect on the well-being of those who serve and their families. Research from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and nongovernmental organizations have raised concerns around the calculations and if BAH is covering the intended 95 percent, as well as the second and third order effects of experiencing a housing cost burden.

 

We share the following for consideration in advance of the report that DoD will deliver to Congress on the examination of the restoration of BAH:

 

• Families, in many cases, are paying beyond what DoD intends. Military pay increases were not commensurate with a volatile housing market and record inflation.
• Restoration would offset the choice many face between paying for food or paying for housing. Active duty families who pay more than their BAH for housing every month are significantly more likely to experience food insecurity, as identified by the USDA Food Security Scale, and less likely to be food secure.
• Increasing BAH to 100% will help ensure the long-term sustainability of military housing. The five percent increase would provide critical funding for military housing improvements amid labor shortages and pandemic-related material cost increases.

We appreciate DoD’s leadership and focus on identifying ways to better care for our service members and their families. Success in implementing BAH restoration will safeguard the economic security of military families in the face of extraordinary pressures as well as reinforce your commitment to those who provide the solid foundation for our Force.

 

Respectfully,

 

Air Force Aid Society, Inc

Air Force Sergeants Association

American Red Cross

Armed Services YMCA

Association of Military Banks of America

Blue Star Families

Code of Support Foundation

Cohen Veterans Network

Defense Credit Union Council

Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services

Elizabeth Dole Foundation

Easterseals DC MD VA

Easterseals, Inc.

Food Care Center

Hope For The Warriors

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

Jewish War Veterans of the USA

JWB Jewish Chaplains Council

Lauren Hope Collective

Military Child Education Coalition

Military Family Advisory Network

Military Officers Association of America

Military Spouse Advocacy Network

Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce

Military Spouse JD Network

MILLIE

National Military Family Association

Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society

Operation Homefront

Partners in PROMISE

RallyPoint

Safe Military Housing Initiative

Secure Families Initiative

Student Veterans of America

Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)

Tricare for Kids Coalition

UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

United Through Reading

Veterans of Foreign Wars

Vets’ Community Connections

Wounded Warrior Project

 

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