WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) has introduced bipartisan legislation to address housing affordability for service-members assigned to high cost areas like Utah.
“Housing has become a national security issue, as it impacts the readiness of Hill Air Force Base (HAFB) in Utah’s 1st (Congressional) District,” according to the two-term congressman.
“As hundreds of lower-enlisted service-members are struggling to afford housing near the base and officers are being forced to turn down assignments in Utah because of the difficult real estate market,” Moore explains, “this bill will spur development interest for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit construction near large installations like HAFB.”
The Low Income Housing for Defense Communities Act of 2024 (LIHTC), which Moore and Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-WA) introduced jointly on Sept. 19, is intended to diversify housing options for junior enlisted service-members by creating an increased tax credit for construction of low-income housing structures within 15 miles of major military installations in high-cost areas.
Moore credits Mark Shepherd, the mayor of Clearfield in Davis County, with helping his staff to better understand the plight service-members assigned to high-cost areas.
“Across the nation,” according to Shepherd, “our military members continue to struggle with housing.
“Their Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) continues to fall short of the rents in the surrounding communities. Consequently, it’s common for two, three and even four airmen to share an apartment so they can afford the rent.”
While there may be low-income housing in the surrounding communities, Shepherd says the waiting lists for those units is long and many service-members are reassigned before their names can reach the top of those lists.
The Department of Defense acknowledges that housing around many growing defense communities is unaffordable for lower-enlisted service-members.
That problem is further complicated by a military construction backlog and a critical shortage of on-base dormitory space, especially since the pandemic of 2020.
In Utah, for example, the communities around HAFB have experienced a 27 percent increase in housing costs and an 18 percent increase in population since 2021.
“Service-members and their families should be able to afford to live where they are stationed,” argues Strickland, who represents a district in Washington that includes Joint Base Lewis-McChord, where 70 percent of the installation’s 55,000 personnel live off-base.
Moore’s proposed Low Income Housing for Defense Communities Act would allow developers near military bases to build high-quality rental units exclusively for service-members by taking advantage of a 30 per cent boost in tax credits for those projects.
The LIHTC would also help service-members qualify for existing housing by changing the income calculation formula to exclude their housing allowance.
Shepherd echoes Strickland’s sentiments, saying that having service-members live in sub-par housing or struggle to afford food sends the wrong message to young people who have volunteered to defend our nation.
“I am grateful to Mayor Shepherd who approached me with this idea,” Moore adds. “I’m proud of the work we’ve done advancing it to this point.
“I look forward to seeing this bill make a meaningful impact in the lives of service-members in Utah and throughout the nation.”