Rep. Haaland Seeks Answers to Military Housing Issues Flagged by Kirtland Air Force Base Families

Kirtland Air Force Base

Published April 6, 2019

WASHINGTON — After hearing about unsafe housing conditions from Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) families, Congresswoman Deb Haaland (NM-01) is seeking answers during a House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness hearing. The hearing covered the mismanagement of housing programs for military families.

Rep. Deb Haaland

Haaland and her staff have met with military families in Albuquerque in order to fully understand the military housing issues that these families are facing. Haaland’s office joined KAFB Base Commanders at four town halls set up for Kirtland Family Housing residents and base personnel to learn more about the issues.

At the hearing, Haaland zeroed in on reports of fear of retaliation that families who had reported unsafe housing conditions faced, “I’ve heard reports that retaliation still persists against military families who are raising concerns about the conditions of their housing. This is extremely troubling as retaliation is a big part of the breach of trust between the DoD and families that lead these families to come to the press and to Congress in the first place.”

>>>WATCH: Haaland Seeks Answers to Military Housing Issues Flagged by Kirtland Air Force Base Families

After each of the Pentagon officials confirmed that there is a zero tolerance policy for retaliation, Haaland stressed the importance of her office receiving contact information for department officials who could look into those reports, so her office can work with them to ensure military families have the information needed to remedy their claims.

One of the factors in military readiness is to ensure that service members and their families are living under safe and healthy conditions. New Mexicans and service members around the country are suffering from issues with mold, rodent infestation, and other health hazards in their military housing programs. Growing up in a military family, Congresswoman Haaland understands the struggles and she’s determined to find the root of this problem.