Chambliss visits Moody

By Kari L. Sands
The Valdosta Daily Times

November 29, 2007 01:09 am

— MOODY AIR FORCE BASE — U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss visited Moody Air Force Base Wednesday to view firsthand the unsuccessful Moody housing project and to host a conference call with Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas regarding the privatized military housing issues.
“It’s a great day to be at Moody as is any day,” said Chambliss. “Especially after seeing the men and women that protect and serve our country in Iraq and all other the world. Having just returned from Iraq on Saturday, we greatly appreciate the Airmen and soldiers that protect and supply democracy and freedom.
“In the past six months, the conditions and situations in Iraq have drastically improved,” said Chambliss.
Following a tour of the Magnolia Grove housing project, Chambliss said that the overall status of the Moody family housing “is not good.”
"We have thousands of men and women serving our country coming to Moody and today Magnolia Grove looks like a ghost town,” said Chambliss of the unfortunate status of the Moody family housing project. “The folks at Moody were not responsible for this. The Air Force did a poor job in the selection of the contractor.
“There was an opportunity to change the direction of the project when it was placed on the 2004 Watch List, but now we’re stuck with a situation that we have to make the best of,” Chambliss added.
During a conference call between Senators Chambliss and Pryor, the Senators called upon the Air Force to take responsibility and reimburse local companies for subcontracting work. Chambliss and Pryor, members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, both have housing projects on military bases in their states that were part of the contract awarded to Carabetta Construction and partners worth in excess of $3 billion. The two senators today called on the Air Force to reimburse subcontractors in their states who have been left with thousands of dollars in unpaid bills. The Senators said the Air Force’s poor decision to award multi-million dollar contracts to a questionable company has now led to stalled military housing projects and unpaid subcontractors in Arkansas, Georgia, Florida and Massachusetts.
“The Air Force should have been more proactive to fix this problem before it got to this point,” said Chambliss. “After almost four years on this project and millions of dollars spent, only two houses have been built. This is unacceptable and will hinder the base’s ability to meet the needs of new personnel expected to arrive in 2009. This is an Air Force project and Air Force personnel are suffering because they have yet to identify a solution.”
Sen. Pryor added, “Families at Little Rock Air Force Base deserve safe, quality and affordable housing. Instead, the Air Force chose a rogue contractor that left behind rows of cement floors, unfinished housing and unpaid bills. It’s time for the Air Force to step up, take responsibility, pay their bills, and get this project back on track. None of us want our airmen and women worried about their family’s living situation when they need to be focused on their mission.”
In simultaneous press events at Moody and Little Rock Air Force Bases, Chambliss and Pryor announced they would continue to mount pressure on the Secretary of the Air Force to swiftly reimburse the subcontractors. In addition, they are working together on a legislative fix to prevent similar problems from occurring in the future.
“We are looking into counteractive future legislation, and we intend to pursue the issues vigorously,” said Chambliss.
They are considering a number of options, including steps to require performance bonds on all housing privatization projects, performance incentives, a Department of Defense rating system where a parent company would receive a negative rating for unsatisfactory work in federal contracting, improved oversight to prevent unrealistically low bids that have the potential to default, and a requirement that developers resolve all outstanding claims against a project before entering a new agreement.
“Moody Air Force Base is a unique place and located in a place prizing itself on Southern hospitality. All of the men and women of the Armed Forces like to have the comfort of knowing that their families are taken care of,” said Chambliss. “We are going to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”

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