Congressman Gonzales Urges Secretary of Defense to Restore BAH Support for Servicemembers and Families

I recently joined Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) and 57 of my colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin urging him to immediately restore the full Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) to support servicemembers and their families.

In the letter, we wrote, “The Department’s decision to reduce BAH to 95% has resulted in underfunded reinvestment accounts at installations across the country. That means less funds for long-term sustainment, more deferred maintenance – and ultimately a less satisfactory housing experience for military families. Restoring full 100% BAH will allow for greater funding for these reinvestment accounts, and will restore the financial integrity to the MHPI program.”

We continued to say, “Servicemembers and their families should not be nickel and dimed by the nation they volunteered to serve, especially as Congress has increased the defense budget by 39% in nominal terms.”

Read the full letter to Secretary Austin here.