The committee also heard from military housing advocates critical of Balfour Beatty. “What’s important for us is that we understand where our shortcomings are and we take action to correct those deficiencies.” We don’t always get it right the first time. “I reject the suggestion that it’s a systemic failure,” said Taylor, emphasizing that the nearly one dozen complaints Ossoff read must be compared against the 280,000 work orders the company receives annually. Ossoff asked why lawmakers should believe that a company that engaged in major fraud has changed. He said those emails came in after the 2013-2019 period in which Balfour Beatty had pleaded guilty to defrauding the government. Ossoff read about a dozen emails from military housing residents that included “I have a pregnant wife who is high risk and I have to live with this exposed mold on my ceiling.” Another read “death trap of a house.” “I’m proud to say we have made enormous strides since I made that commitment,” Taylor said.īalfour operates more than 43,000 on-base homes at 55 military bases. He said the company gets more than 280,000 work orders annually and that performance metrics indicate the overwhelming majority of residents are happy with their homes.
Richard Taylor, a president at Balfour Beatty, said he made a commitment to Congress in 2019 that the company would get better at monitoring repairs and responding to problems. “Our military families should not be forced to live in fear of their own homes,” Fe Torres said. Two service members recounted their harrowing experiences with military housing at a hearing Tuesday. He said that the investigation revealed “grave risks to the health and safety of servicemembers and their families.” Ossoff said that the eight-month investigation by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations stemmed from the complaints he heard from military families about their maintenance requests being ignored. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., released a report Tuesday concluding that Balfour’s practices since 2019 mirror those that occurred in previous years. The company was ordered to pay $65.4 million in fines and restitution and was placed under an independent compliance monitor for three years. The company oversees about 1,700 homes at the two bases.īalfour pleaded guilty in December to committing fraud against the United States from 2013 to 2019. The allegations against Balfour Beatty Communities LLC are focused on housing provided to service members stationed at Fort Gordon Army Base in Georgia and Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas. One of the largest providers of military housing in the United States continues to respond inadequately to mold and other structural problems, threatening the health and safety of service members and their families, according to a Senate panel’s investigation.
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