Senate panel investigates base housing

Contractor grilled over issues at Fort Gordon, elsewhere.

U.S. senators grilled a federal contractor Tuesday over allegations that it has endangered U.S. service members and their families by failing to properly manage base housing at Fort Gordon and elsewhere.

Led by Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations also issued a damning report detailing the allegations against Balfour Beatty, a London-based company that operates homes at 55 military installations across the country.

The 51-page report says the company has failed to clean up mold and fix rusting pipes, inoperable appliances and floor tiles held together with packing tape.

Ossoff underscored that the company pleaded guilty in December to defrauding the government and was sentenced to pay more than $65 million in fines and restitution. The Justice Department accused Balfour Beatty of lying about housing repairs requested by U.S. service members so it could pocket millions of dollars in performance bonuses.

“Why should a company convicted of major criminal fraud — that engaged in a scheme to defraud the United States — remain in a position of trust, responsible for the safe housing of the hero service members and their families on installations across the country?” Ossoff asked a pair of the company’s executives at the hearing.

Rick Taylor — Balfour Beatty’s president of facility operations, renovation and construction — pushed back, saying his company cooperated with federal investigators and has made corrections.

“I reject the suggestion it is a systemic failure,” Taylor said. “Things go wrong. We don’t always get it right the first time. We are not perfect… What is important for us is that we understand where our shortcomings are and we take action to correct those deficiencies.”

“The results we are seeing are demonstrating we have taken this very seriously,” he added, “and we are taking very proactive steps to ensure we don’t repeat the mistakes of the individuals in our firm that worked here at the time.”

The committee invited service members and their advocates to testify at the hearing, including U.S. Army Capt. Samuel Choe, who lived with his wife and children in base housing at Fort Gordon near Augusta between 2019 and 2021. The committee’s report said Choe’s young daughter became seriously ill with severe atopic dermatitis, a type of eczema, after they moved into the home, which was managed by Balfour Beatty. Her illness, according to the report, may have been caused by mold found in the home.

“My wife and I have found that my daughter’s experience is life-altering and that it will haunt her as well as us for the rest of our lives,” Choe said.

Taylor, the Balfour Beatty executive, said his company responded to Choe’s concerns about mold and inspected the home.

“When I kind of look at the fact pattern, I think there are just holes,” Taylor said. “It is hard for me to reconcile in my mind that the home was actually the cause of the condition when the findings that we had in responding to the work requests did not indicate the same.”

Fort Gordon officials did not respond to requests for comment.