Sec. 603. Increased awareness and improved calculation of rates for basic allowance for housing
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The Secretary of Defense shall seek to improve transparency of the calculation of the basic allowance for housing under section 403 of title 37, United States Code, by— developing a clear, accessible document that explains how rates of the basic allowance for housing are determined, including methodology and types of data sources used, which shall be— reviewed and updated not less frequently than annually and as rates and calculation methods change; and made available on a publicly accessible internet website and distributed across all relevant components of the Department of Defense; and providing to members of the Armed Forces when such members experience a permanent change of station, permanent change of assignment, change in dependency status, change in grade, or any other event that may impact their eligibility for or rate of basic allowance for housing— the information included in the document developed under paragraph (1); and an explanation of the type of rental housing the rate of basic allowance for housing received by such members is intended to support in each locality.
Consistent with the recommendations of the 14th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation issued under section 1008(b) of title 37, United States Code, the Secretary shall— develop a methodology to compute rates of the basic allowance for housing using an approach based on the number of bedrooms in a housing unit and incorporating available and verified occupied rental market data; conduct a pilot program using the methodology developed under paragraph (1); and using that methodology, set notional rates for the basic allowance for housing for 2026 and 2027 for a minimum of 10 military housing areas.
Not later than February 1, 2027, the Secretary shall provide a briefing to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives that includes— a comparison of the notional rates set under subsection (b)(3) with the actual rates for basic allowance for housing for 2026 and 2027; a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of— the methodology used as of the date of the enactment of this Act for setting rates for the basic allowance for housing; and using the methodology developed under subsection (b)(1) for setting such rates; a determination of whether the methodology developed under subsection (b)(1) is more or less likely than the methodology described in paragraph (2)(A) to ensure that rates for the basic allowance for housing are set based upon a 95 percent statistical confidence that the estimated median rent is within 10 percent of the actual median rent in local military housing areas; a cost estimate for 2027 under both the methodology described in paragraph (2)(A) and the methodology developed under subsection (b)(1); an identification of any additional legislative authority required to fully implement the methodology developed under subsection (b)(1); and the recommendation of the Secretary with respect to whether to implement the use of the methodology developed under subsection (b)(1) and the timing for such implementation.