Military Update: Basic Allowance for Housing to rise 7.3 percent

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Military Update: Basic Allowance for Housing to rise 7.3 percent
By Tom Philpott, Special to Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, December 15, 2007

Basic Allowance for Housing paid to servicemembers living off base in stateside areas will climb an average of 7.3 percent next month to keep pace with local rental costs.

A total of 1.2 million servicemembers will draw BAH in 2008, an increase of 250,000 over 2007, said Susan A. Brumbaugh, director of the BAH program for the Department of Defense.

Most of the jump, she said, is probably reservists called to active duty to support contingency operations, including wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But part of the growth is the effect of housing privatization partnerships.

As the inventory of military housing falls, private contractors are building or refurbishing units with government help for rent exclusively to military members. The result is a dwindling population living in base housing and a rising population who qualify for BAH but see their allowance transferred monthly as rent to live in contractor-owned housing.

2008 BAH rates are online at: http://perdiem.hqda.pentagon.mil/perdiem/bah.html . They vary by pay grade and assignment area.


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