Senate Dems ask Hegseth to probe potential price gouging on military families' housing
Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee are asking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to probe what's driving the price hikes in rent and housing costs for military families.
Specifically, 15 Democrats — led by the committee's ranking member, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) — wrote a letter on Monday asking the Department of Defense (DOD) to investigate whether the high prices are a result of companies and landlords using RealPage's rent-pricing system.
RealPage, a property management software company, is facing legal action from the Justice Department and 10 state attorneys general, who argue its rent-pricing system allows landlords to align their rents with each other to stifle competition and increase their own revenue, thereby hurting tenants.
'Services provided by RealPage may enable landlords to raise rents even more aggressively to the detriment of military families,' the lawmakers wrote. 'RealPage's services YieldStar and AIRM help landlords exchange proprietary information about lease terms and rents in order to maximize revenue.'
The Senate Democrats are asking DOD to investigate whether landlords and private companies with which DOD has housing contracts are using RealPage's products 'to price gouge military families'; whether the DOD is taking steps to protect military families' data from being disclosed to housing companies; and what steps DOD is taking to ensure military families have access to safe, clean and affordable housing.
'The Department of Defense has a responsibility to protect military families from predatory private housing companies and ensure that taxpayer dollars meant for military families are not being pocketed by unscrupulous landlords,' they wrote.
The lawmakers expressed concern, too, that the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) — which the DOD provides service members to help with housing costs — is not keeping up with the costs of rent.
The Senate Democrats asked DOD to probe, too, reports that landlords are raising rents to profit off BAH increases rather than because of market conditions, citing a study saying this practice is 'common.'
'These findings raise significant concerns that landlords are profiteering by taking taxpayer money that is intended to support military families,' the lawmakers wrote.
They also noted that, in 2022, the DOD increased the BAH for 28 areas where rental prices increased dramatically. In 'several' of those areas — according to the Senate Democrats, who cited the DOJ lawsuit — RealPage allegedly 'contributed to excessive rental costs.'
RealPage did not respond to a request for comment, but the company has forcefully defended itself against the legal challenges it faces.
The company says housing affordability is the 'real problem' and that the purpose of its revenue management system 'is to optimize revenue – not to maximize rents.' The company also has said that some price recommendations include lowering rents – not just raising rents – and that the landlords and companies that use the software are never coerced into accepting the software's pricing recommendations.
'Housing affordability should be the real focus. RealPage is proud of the role our customers play in providing safe and affordable housing to millions of people. Despite the noise, we will continue to innovate with confidence and make sure our solutions continue to benefit residents and housing providers alike,' RealPage CEO and President Dana Jones said in a statement on the company's website, responding to the 'false claims' in 'media and legal filings.'
A DOD spokesperson said the Department would respond directly to the authors of the letter.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
34 minutes ago
US Senate seeks to add expanded compensation for nuclear radiation victims to tax bill
WASHINGTON -- A program to compensate people exposed to radiation from past nuclear weapons testing and manufacturing could be restarted and expanded under a provision added by U.S. senators to the major tax and budget policy bill. The language added Thursday to the Senate version of the massive tax bill would overhaul the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which was originally enacted in 1990 and expired about a year ago. The law compensated people in about a dozen western states who developed serious illnesses from nuclear testing and manufacturing stemming from World War II-era efforts to develop the atomic bomb. The new Senate provision would expand the coverage to states including Missouri and Tennessee, among other places. It would also cover a wider range of illnesses. The program's limited scope in the West has led Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri to push for its expansion to include uranium sites in St. Louis and victims in other states. His advocacy led the Senate to twice pass a major overhaul of the program, but it stalled in the U.S. House amid concerns about its cost. Without an agreement over the program's scope in Congress, the program lapsed. Hawley said the new language compensates many more people, but at a far lower cost than previous legislation. 'These folks deserve to be recognized for the sacrifices they made and compensated when the government has poisoned them without telling them, without helping them, without making it right," Hawley said Friday. 'This is a chance, finally, to make it right.' Still, the new provision's pathway remains uncertain when the House considers the Senate's changes. While there is broad Senate support for the payments, it is unclear how the addition of Hawley's legislation will be received by cost-conscious Republicans as they barrel toward a self-imposed July 4 deadline for the overall tax bill. House leaders are waiting to see what comes out of the Senate before deciding whether they might make further changes or simply try to pass the Senate bill and send it to President Donald Trump's desk. St. Louis played a key role processing uranium as the United States developed a nuclear weapons program that was vital for winning World War II. But that effort exposed workers and nearby residents to radiation, with lingering issues remaining to this day. An elementary school was closed down a few years ago because of radioactive material found on site. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers remains years away from finishing environmental cleanup work. An investigation by The Associated Press, The Missouri Independent and MuckRock found the federal government and companies responsible for nuclear bomb production and atomic waste storage sites in the St. Louis area in the mid-20th century were aware of health risks, spills, improperly stored contaminants and other problems but often ignored them. Nuclear waste contaminated Coldwater Creek, and those who live nearby worry their cancers and other severe illnesses are connected. It's difficult to definitively link specific illnesses with the waste, but advocates for an expanded compensation program said there's evidence it made people sick years later. After the report by the AP and others, Hawley said sick St. Louis residents deserved help, too. He was joined by Dawn Chapman, co-founder of Just Moms STL, which brought attention to local nuclear contamination. She has called St. Louis a 'national sacrifice zone.' 'Many of us have had extreme amounts of devastation in the form of illnesses in our families,' Chapman said Friday. The provision added Thursday would also expand coverage areas in several states for those exposed to radioactive contamination that blew downwind from government sites. In New Mexico, for example, advocates have sought to expand the program for people near the spot where the first Manhattan Project-era bomb was tested. These residents didn't know the blast was why ash had fallen. It poised water, crops and livestock. Attention for these 'downwinders' rose following the release of the film Oppenheimer. 'Our federal government has a moral responsibility to support Americans that helped defend our country — and it has a moral responsibility to include all people who were exposed. That begins with reauthorizing RECA and amending it to include those who have been left out for far too long,' said Sen. Martin Heinrich, Democrat of New Mexico. Prior to the addition of the radiation compensation measure, Hawley had so far withheld support for the overall tax package, questioning cuts to Medicaid programs and the potential effects on rural hospitals and low income residents. He said he still wants to see improvements in the package, but added that help for radiation victims was essential. 'It would be very hard for me to vote for a bill that doesn't include (the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act). This is extremely, extremely important to me," Hawley said. ___
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Republicans, some Democrats and even ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich weigh in on ex-Speaker Michael Madigan's sentence
In what's become somewhat customary once an Illinois political titan falls, leaders throughout the state responded with condemnation and called for reforms upon hearing Friday that ex-Speaker Michael Madigan was sentenced to seven and a half years in federal prison and fined $2.5 million on federal corruption charges. House Republican leader Tony McCombie of Savanna and Senate Republican leader John Curran of Downers Grove called for bipartisan ethics reforms in the wake of the sentencing, with Curran specifically requesting committee hearings and votes on potential changes — something that didn't happen this session. Madigan's sentencing was 'a stark and shameful reminder of the corruption that has plagued Illinois government for far too long,' McCombie said in a statement. 'Justice was served — but the damage to public trust runs deep.' But Illinois' last prominent statewide politician who went to federal prison, former Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, held back on the chance to take a swipe at a bitter nemesis when Madigan was sentenced. Though the two were Democrats, they feuded for nearly all six years Blagojevich was in office between 2003 and 2009. 'When that guy, Madigan, was on the top of the mountain, they were all kissing his ass,' Blagojevich said. 'Now they're going to be stomping all over his grave. And it's really, it's really sort of an unappealing side of human nature.' Blagojevich said Madigan's conviction underscores the systemic problems in politics and government in the state Capitol. 'Is the system in Springfield corrupt, in many ways, absolutely,' Blagojevich said in an interview with the Tribune while insisting he didn't break the law. 'It's a system, I've been saying this from the beginning, it all too often works for itself on the backs of the people.' Blagojevich — whose 14-year federal prison sentence for corruption was commuted by President Donald Trump, who ultimately also pardoned Blagojevich — didn't want to celebrate Madigan's prison sentence despite the two's often-tense relationship. 'I just don't think it's right for me to kick a man when he's down,' Blagojevich said. 'What's happening now to him, I know what it's like. And it's really easy for these politicians to get on their high horses and start kicking someone, stomping on someone.' Senate President Don Harmon, a Democrat from Oak Park who is facing a potential fine of nearly $10 million from the Illinois State Board of Elections for improper political fundraising, said Friday's sentence represented 'a solemn reminder' that the duty of public office holders is to serve 'and that there is accountability for those who do not.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Democrats Are Wary of Playing Into Trump's Hands by Supporting ‘No Kings,' L.A. Protests
Democratic leaders are sensing political danger. Protests against the Trump administration, which are set to continue this weekend after a week of uprising that spread from Los Angeles across the country, have energized a portion of the left-wing base that has been despondent since President Trump's election. The budding 'No Kings' movement gives the left a chance to capitalize on the political moment, in which many people are reacting with fury to Trump's targeting of noncriminal immigrants for deportations, aggressive tactics of immigration-enforcement agents and deployment of soldiers in response to protest.
