SMACNA Advocates for Bill to Improve IAQ, Living Conditions in Military Housing

SMACNA is backing bipartisan legislation to improve health and safety conditions in privatized military housing nationwide. Recent official audits and reports—such as a Department of Defense Office of Inspector General audit (DODIG-2025-154)—have highlighted systemic oversight failures and negligent maintenance by private housing contractors across multiple military installations.

In a statement to lawmakers, SMACNA endorsed H.R. 7188, the Military Occupancy Living Defense (MOLD) Act, and its Senate companion, S. 3654. Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) introduced the House bill, with cosponsors Reps. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Don Bacon (R-NE), Eugene Vindman (D-VA) and nearly two dozen other Members. In the Senate, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT) introduced the bill, with Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) as original cosponsors. This legislation would set enforceable health and safety standards for housing used by about 700,000 service members and their families nationwide.

Lack of facility oversight, poor maintenance, and faulty HVAC systems have exposed thousands of military families to widespread mold and related IAQ issues, many with serious health consequences for our service members and women and their families. This exposure has been linked to serious health problems, such as respiratory illnesses, neurological symptoms, and developmental issues in children. Families also often have to pay for medical care, property damage, and temporary moves from their own financial resources, damaging morale and often leading service personnel to leave the military earlier than planned.

If this legislation were enacted, it would require several important assessment and remediation changes:

Uniform Habitability and Safety Standards: The Department of Defense would have to adopt a single set of housing standards based on widely accepted property maintenance codes, including limits on humidity across all DOD housing.

• Third-Party Inspections: Certified professionals would carry out independent inspections when families move in or out, after complaints, and after repairs. The results would be shared directly with tenants.
• Timely Remediation and Accountability: Landlords would have to fix problem units or move families to safe housing within a set timeframe. A 24/7 complaint hotline would require a five-day response, and contractors could face financial penalties if they do not meet established housing standards.
• Tenant Protections: Service members could keep their Basic Allowance for Housing if their units do not meet standards. The legislation would also create a DOD office to oversee compliance.

Stan Kolbe, SMACNA’s Executive Director of Government and Political Affairs, explained SMACNA’s support for the legislation: “SMACNA supports this legislation because the conditions it addresses are, at their root, mechanical systems failures… cosmetic remediation that leaves the underlying moisture and ventilation deficiency in place guarantees that the next family assigned to that unit will file the same complaint. This effort is fully consistent with the broader indoor air quality agenda SMACNA has advanced as a top priority to Congress for many years, including the recently introduced H.R. 9886, the Federal Facilities Indoor Air Quality Assessment Act, requiring an assessment for IAQ in the federal building portfolio to require targeted remediation of IAQ problems.”

Read the full letter about the MOLD Act here