Exclusive interview: Ossoff discusses new bill on military housing

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - For more than a decade, we’ve been exposing issues with housing at Fort Gordon.

Our I-TEAM uncovered mold, electrical and gas issues, and pest problems.

Following our investigations, Sen. Jon Ossoff led an eight-month Senate investigation. It revealed a pattern of mistreatment and neglect in private housing on Fort Gordon and other military posts run by contractor Balfour Beatty.

We spoke exclusively to Ossoff to hear about a new bill he’s introducing to turn those findings into solutions.

Ossoff wanted to speak with us first as he gets ready to unveil a new bill he’s been working on with senators from both sides of the aisle to put an end to the problems in military housing.

“This new bill that I’m announcing is about bringing greater oversight and transparency and accountability to the military housing enterprise. So that secretary of defense and Congress can get the truth about what’s happening to enlisted personnel on bases across the country,” he said.

Ossoff saw in may what so many military families have been dealing with for decades.

“Mold infestation, cockroach infestation, vermin infestation, ceilings caving in,” he said.

I-TEAM COVERAGE:

• I-TEAM UPDATE: Fort Gordon housing investigation
• Ossoff returns to Fort Gordon to announce progress
• Families share stories on Fort Gordon housing problems
• How military families feel about housing settlement

Not to mention water leaks, gas and electrical issues. The list goes on.

“Completely unacceptable for anybody, totally unacceptable for military service members, their spouses, and their children,” said Ossoff.

During his eight-month investigation, he confirmed our findings of more than a decade’s worth of neglect.

“Service members and their families were waiting months and months to get basic maintenance taken care of if it was ever taken care of,” he said.

He says he’s taking matters into his own hands.

“This new legislation that I’m helping to lead alongside both republicans and democrats will bring more oversight, more transparency, more accountability to privatized military housing,” said Ossoff.

They are still negotiating all of the details of the final bill, but at the end of the day, he said it’s not just for Georgia military families.

“Whether it’s at Fort Gordon or any other installation in Georgia, military families deserve safe, clean, healthy housing. We’re talking about not just service members, but also their spouses, in many cases, their young children,” he said.

He says the issue made it this far due to lack of concern, oversight, and accountability, but that those are the issues he’s seeking to solve by leading these long-term investigations with both political parties.

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