'Plagued by problems': Military housing firm accused of mistreatment in Senate panel probe

WASHINGTON – One of the nation's largest private military housing companies put the health and safety of service members and their families at risk as recently as this year, according to a congressional report issued Tuesday.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found that Balfour Beatty Communities, LLC, disregarded safety concerns and environmental hazards, including mold in military housing that residents' physicians said caused eczema and exacerbated asthma. According to the panel's report, the families faced dangerous conditions in on-base housing, including water and gas leaks.

"In the mid 90s, when the Department of Defense commenced the privatization of military housing, it was envisioned that this initiative would lead to better outcomes for military families; safer, more reliable living conditions, healthy homes, affordable housing available to families living on and around U.S. military installations," said Sen. Jon Ossoff, the Georgia Democrat who chaired the hearing. “For years, however, this program has been plagued by problems."

"Military families make sacrifices every day. A safe home should not be one of them," Army spouse Jana Wanner testified at the hearing.

Over 150K residents housed by Balfour

Balfour operates over 43,000 homes around the country at 55 Army, Navy, and Air Force bases, with approximately 150,000 residents. The months-long congressional investigation focused on incidents at Fort Gordon Army Base in Georgia and Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas, from November 2019 to February 2022.

Company officials defended Balfour's record at the hearing, and said that the company has addressed many of the issues previously investigated by the government.

The subcommittee's findings indicate that Balfour's bad practices continued even after the company knew it was under investigation by the Justice Department.

Military suicide crisis: An Alaskan army base is the epicenter of military suicides. Soldiers know why

In December 2019, Balfour pleaded guilty to committing fraud against the United States in its military housing operations from 2013-19. At the time, a U.S. District Judge sentenced Balfour to "pay over $33.6 million in criminal fines and over $31.8 million in restitution to the U.S. military, serve three years of probation, and engage an independent compliance monitor for a period of three years."

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me," said Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, the top Republican on the investigations subcommittee. "Two years later, it seems like it's pretty much pretty much going on as it was prior to the fine being imposed. So I'm wondering what what is the military doing about this? You know, how how can we get this under control?"

According to the report, the company continued to record inaccurate work order data on its internal system, which could lead to the wrong performance fees.

For example, mold problems were at times categorized incorrectly, including as painting or carpentry work requests. The subcommittee also found that urgent requests from military families to address mold and leaks were ignored or delayed by Balfour staff.

New Army pregnancy rules: Army changes pregnancy policy to help women grow in career while being moms

"How many more cases of negligence and fraud and civil rights violations must be presented in this building before Balfour Beatty is properly held accountable and banned from receiving further government contracts as well as removed from their current partnership with the Department of Defense?" asked Rachel Christian, the founder of Armed Forces Housing Advocates.

"Balfour Beatty has already admitted to defrauding the government. But it is not just the government that suffered in this case, it is the service members and their families," she said.

Service members detail health risks

Capt. Samuel Choe, a former Balfour property resident, testified before the committee Tuesday about how mold in his family's former home harmed his daughter, who was diagnosed with severe atopic dermatitis, which Choe said could be fatal.

An allergy specialist on the base attributed her illness to exposure to mode in the home, and advised the family to move. According to the panel's report, Balfour suggested its inspections of the home did not reveal mold, and failed to document Choe's repeated complaints about mold in the home.

"My daughter prior to her condition was a very exuberant, bright and vibrant young lady," Choe said. "Now due to her condition, she is reticent in engaging with anyone outside of her immediate circle."

Tech. Sgt. Jack Fe Torres, who is stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas also testified to how his family's health has been effected by living in Balfour housing.

"After moving in my wife and children started experiencing a wide variety of medical symptoms, after realizing we felt better outside of our home we realized that mold was likely a threat," he said.

Balfour officials said the company had difficulty responding to the family's concerns because they did not let employees enter the residence.

Christian also told the committee that the quality of Balfour housing and treatment of service members by Balfour staff was harmful to the health of residents.

"In the past year, I have seen environmental hazards such as mold, lead, asbestos and raw sewage being improperly handled by untrained staff and work orders being closed prior to completion by Balfour Beatty employees," Christian said.

"I have witnessed service members in tears due to the fear of losing their careers after Balfour Beatty attempted to use their commands to silence them for speaking further about unsafe conditions in their homes," she testified. "I have seen denied maintenance request and closures of work orders simply due to Balfour Beatty not wanting to foot the cost of completing necessary maintenance and repairs."

Christian also testified that disabled military families "are being faced with excessive red tape for requesting reasonable accommodations and modifications to their homes."

Balfour staff defends practices

Richard C. Taylor, the president of facility operations, renovation and construction at Balfour Beatty Communities, defended the companies practices.

"In 2019, I made a commitment in congressional testimony to improve BBC's ability to monitor repairs and respond to problems, to prioritize the health and safety of residents, and to prepare homes for residents before they move into one of our homes," Taylor said. "I'm proud to say that we have made enormous strides since I made that commitment."

"We do not tolerate anyone at BBC falsifying work order information," Taylor said.

Taylor also rejected Ossoff's assertion that there was systemic failure by the company.

"Our primary focus is providing our service members and their families with safe, quality homes supported by prompt and effective customer service and maintenance support. Our employees take this mission very seriously," Balfour said in written testimony.

Next steps

"The advocates who testified today also provided compelling testimony suggesting that these issues are not limited to a single provider and that they are, as we established in our investigation, systemic and widespread," Ossoff told USA TODAY after the hearing.

"Step one has been to establish the facts that we've established, and as for the next steps Congress will need to engage with the Pentagon with the Department of Justice based upon the report that we've produced to chart a path forward," he said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Military housing firm Balfour risked families' health: Senate probe