{"id":21703,"date":"2018-08-06T19:54:18","date_gmt":"2018-08-06T19:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/08\/06\/military-contractors-will-get-full-housing-stipend-payouts-in-2019-but-not-troops\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T12:25:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T12:25:19","slug":"military-contractors-will-get-full-housing-stipend-payouts-in-2019-but-not-troops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2018\/08\/06\/military-contractors-will-get-full-housing-stipend-payouts-in-2019-but-not-troops\/","title":{"rendered":"Military contractors will get full housing stipend payouts in 2019, but not troops"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 While troops have seen their housing stipends scaled back in recent years<\/a>, dozens of military contractors running private base housing are set to receive an extra boost in their government payouts in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congress included a clause in the annual defense authorization bill (finalized by lawmakers on Aug. 1<\/a>) which promises residential recapitalization efforts will not see any reduction in basic allowance for housing rates in coming months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That promise comes even as service members\u2019 BAH payouts<\/a> have been dropped to 95 percent of regional costs, potentially requiring them to cover several hundred dollars for rent or mortgage payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision not to reduce the contractors\u2019 housing funds at the same rate as rank-and-file troops will cost the Defense Department about $200 million next year alone, and more than $1 billion over the next five years. It has already drawn the ire of White House officials but is not expected to be enough to prompt the president to veto the wide-ranging defense policy bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\t