David Sirota's blog for June 9, 2004, cites some interesting votes in Congress. He highlighted House debate concerning military housing. "With U.S. troops struggling to secure Iraq last summer, Congress and the president repeatedly praised soldiers' efforts and promised to provide them the best facilities possible. Yet, the White House budget that year proposed to cut $1.5 billion out of military housing. Representative David Obey (D-Wisc.) came up with a simple solution: Slightly reduce the proposed tax cuts on the 200,000 Americans making $1 million a year to fill the budget gap for the troops and their families. Instead of getting an $88,000 tax cut, millionaires would receive an ample $83,000 tax cut, and the troops' housing would be maintained. Obey's bill was voted down (House vote #324, June 26, 2003." Obey's "bill" was actually Amendment 196 to HR 2559, for those who wish to research this issue further.
The larger issue is the privatization of construction for military housing. The Navy Times reported on this process on September 11, 2003, noting that the military services own about 273,000 family housing units around the world of which 60% are considered inadequate. According to the Navy Times using traditional military construction replacing or repairing these would cost $16 billion and would take 20 years to finish. The argument for privatization is underpinned by the assertions that defense officials could speed up the construction by using public-private ventures (PPV's), service personnel could rent the housing, often on military property, with their housing allowances used for the rent, and new construction and renovation could be done at less expense to the services. http://www.navytimes.com/print.php?f=1-292243-2208511.php
The Corpus Christi "Caller Times" wrote of the multi-million dollar construction projects: "The major contract, an $82 million public-private venture between the Navy and Austin based Landmark Organization, will make more than 500 housing units available to sailors and other servicemen at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi and Naval Station Ingleside." The article also states that "the Navy has made a capital investment of $29.4 million of the $82 million total. But unlike other military housing, the Navy will not manage the property, and will thus save millions of dollars in ongoing maintenance costs." http://www.caller2com/specials/2004/horizons/real_estate/military_housing.html
Of note is the connection between Landmark and FaulkerNSA. Landmark Organization is based in Austin, TX, and the officers are listed as Mark F. Schultz, Curtis Cline, Donna Jenkins, and Mickie Carole Smith. Schultz is CEO of FaulknerUSA, Cline is the President of FaulknerUSA. Opensecrets.org lists Donna Jenkins as a "Dallas homemaker," while Mickie Carole Smith's political contributions (to Dot Snyder) as coming from a "housewife."
The Landmark Organization (FaulknerUSA) got the Naval Air Station Kingsville contract in 1996, along with the Lackland AFB contract in 1998, and the Naval Complex South Texas contract in 2002.
The Faulkner USA website http://www.faulknerusa.com/military.html mentions the BHI Project in which the Texas developer built three military guesthouses owned and operated by FaulknerUSA. The units are located at Fort Bragg, NC (200 units), Hunter Army Airfield at Fort Stewart, GA (75 units), and Fort Irwin, CA (180 units). "The army leased the real estate to BHI for the Army's On-Base Guesthouse Project. The three hotel project was awarded and funded as one contract."
The Moody AFB contract was awarded to Moody Family Housing, LLC (Carbetta Enterprises Inc.) with the Air Force providing authority to a Direct Government loan or government limited loan guarantee of a permanent loan. Three hundred revenue producing housing units and associated improvements, land development for 11 officer units, and access to base water supply and waste water treatment facilities for 295 housing units.
The bills have not all been collected but Senate Report 106-290 Military Construction Appropriation Bill, 2001 requests $1,274, 332, 000 for Navy and Marine Corps family housing. Twelve other military projects are listed in the report, which notes a recommendation of $150,974,000.
Major contractors who have been awarded these PPV's, in addition to FaulknerUSA-Landmark Organization, include Dujardin, GMH Military Housing, Hunt Building Corporation, Gateway, Aurora Military Housing LLC-Hunt Building Corp., Patrician Asset Management, EQR Lincoln Properties, Piceme Military Housing, Miller-Valentine, Woolpert-Hunt Building Corporation, Lincoln Property-Clark Realty Capital LLC, Hunt-Flour-Lincoln Clark Family LLC, Clark/Pinnacle LLC, Patrick Family Housing (Shaw Group/Carbetta), Clark Pinnacle Family Communities, and Ohano Military Communities LLC.
I leave it to those more skilled in investigative journalism than I to discern the connections between the FaulknerUSA, Hunt Building Corporation, Carbetta, and Clark, and the Department of Defense. However, I do suspect that when so few names appear on so many contracts that some further investigation is in order.