The Senate’s draft of the annual defense authorization bill would dramatically change the Basic Allowance for Housing system (BAH), potentially costing service members thousands of dollars a year.
Soldiers are given a stipend at a fixed rate based on their zip code, rank and family status under the current policy. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2017 (NDAA) proposes the stipend shift toward a model more similar to its Overseas Housing Allowance – reimbursing troops for actual expenses instead of a fixed amount, the Military Times first reported.
Flexibility in the funds would be eliminated as only utilities and rent would be covered — troops would also be required to provide proof of what they spend.
Service members would not see a change until they “undergo a permanent change of duty station outside their military housing area after January 1, 2018.”
Proponents for the change argue the amount provided has become inflated to an excessive amount over time and should be cut back.
In a recent Senate report on NDAA, lawmakers called for major reforms.
While service members paid as much as 22 percent of their housing costs out-of-pocket in the decades preceding the change to the current system in the late 1990s, by 2006, out-of-pocket expenses were eliminated entirely, and indeed, in certain circumstances, as demonstrated by a recent US Army Audit Agency (USAAA) audit, the benefit now far exceeds the actual cost of housing borne by some service members. USAAA found that BAH entitlements paid to married service members collected in the same military housing area significantly exceeded the local housing costs for these service members by more than $200 million in fiscal year 2014 alone, and recommended modifying BAH to bring actual costs more in line with the provided benefit.
Housing stipends are expected to slip to 97 percent of expected area housing costs next year, while pay increases remain below what is slated to be seen in the private sector, according to Military Times.
The Department of Defense has pushed back on the proposal, saying it is “inappropriate” to alter the troop’s compensation.
The lower chamber’s version of the bill does not include language on the issue.
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