DORGAN OFFERS LEGISLATION TO BAR PRIVATIZATION OF AIR FORCE BASE HOUSING IN NORTH DAKOTA

Privatization not in the interest of America’s servicemembers or taxpayers, senator says

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) has proposed legislation that would put a stop to a Pentagon plan to turn housing at North Dakota’s Air Force installations over to private contractors free of charge. Under the Pentagon plan, the private contractors would effectively be given ownership of the housing, would collect rent from military personnel living in the housing, and would in return sign a 50-year contract saying they will maintain it.

Dorgan is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, as well as its subcommittee that funds defense-related projects around the world. In letters to the chairmen and ranking members of two key subcommittees, Dorgan submitted proposed legislation that would prevent the privatization of housing at North Dakota’s bases. Dorgan said he’ll push to include the legislation in the subcommittees’ annual appropriations bills.

“In recent years the Air Force has invested more than $500 million to build and renovate 2,100 family housing units at Minot and Grand Forks Air Force bases. It is some of the best base housing at any military installation in the world,” Dorgan wrote. “I don’t see how giving away this housing to a private contractor will save the government money.”

Dorgan said that in a number of cases where military housing privatization plans around the country have been completed, they have been plagued by infighting among contractors and subcontractors, delays, and cost overruns.

“We need to continue to make investments in good housing on our air bases,” Dorgan said. “We especially need some new dormitories on our bases. But those should be funded by Congress in the military construction bill.

“We’ve also experienced controversy at military bases where private contractors have moved non-military into base housing that was empty. That has raised security and other concerns among families who live on the military bases while their soldiers are deployed overseas.”

“We have already seen numerous cases in which privatization contractors have gone bankrupt or failed to perform at other bases around the country. The slowdown in the housing market and increases in construction costs are likely to cause even more instability among privatization contractors,” he wrote.