A group of 20 House members wants the Pentagon to extend a temporary increase in the basic housing allowance for some service members. The hike is set to expire at the end of the year.
“The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has left the rental market with shortages and rising costs,” lawmakers wrote Thursday in a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, which Rep. Deborah Ross (D-N.C.) posted on Twitter. “This challenge, combined with the rising cost of housing and utilities across the United States, has led service members and their families to experience higher-than-normal financial strain, threatening their livelihoods and housing security.”
The lawmakers want DOD to extend the BAH increase through June.
Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Erin Tansey