Peters, Lawler Introduce Bill to Expand On-Base Homes for Servicemembers

June 30, 2026

Washington D.C. – Today, Representatives Scott Peters (CA-50) and Mike Lawler (NY-17) introduced the Military Housing Innovation Act to address the shortage of safe, cost-efficient on-base housing for servicemembers.

San Diego is home to more than 115,000 active-duty servicemembers who rely on both on-base and off-base housing. When on-base housing falls short, servicemembers are forced into an already constrained private rental market, driving up prices and reducing availability for both military and civilian families. The Military Housing Innovation Act aims to relieve this pressure by directing the Department of Defense (DoD) to study innovative construction methods that could expand on-base housing supply efficiently and safely.

“San Diego is a proud military community, and it's essential that we pursue every smart, practical solution to help ease housing pressures felt both on-base and across our region,” Rep. Peters said. “By examining proven, space-efficient building designs, we can create more housing options for our men and women in uniform, without compromising safety or quality. This is a commonsense step toward addressing the housing shortage impacting both our military and the communities that support them.”

“Military housing must prioritize the safety of our service members while ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. This study will help determine whether proven housing designs can enable the military to make better use of limited land, expand housing options, and reduce development constraints. By bringing together experts from across the federal government, we can ensure any updates to military housing standards are driven by data, protect service members and their families, and modernize outdated rules without compromising safety,” said Rep. Lawler. 

The Military Housing Innovation Act would direct federal agencies to study the potential benefits of allowing single-stair building designs up to six stories within the Unified Facilities Criteria. This building type is already used safely across much of the world and could enable more efficient construction of high‑quality, cost‑effective housing on military bases.

The legislation has drawn over 105 endorsements from housing and innovation advocates, including:
“Making sure that servicemembers and military families have access to housing that is high-quality and affordable, using innovative methods like single-stair design, is exactly how we move toward abundance. Building more housing on bases will also ease pressure on housing markets in surrounding communities. Studying single-stair design is an excellent move toward this goal. We're grateful to Congressmen Peters and Lawler for their leadership on this issue." — Derek Kaufman, President of Inclusive Abundance Action.
"Our service members are getting squeezed by the same housing shortage and high costs hitting families across the country. Single-stair building designs enable more affordable, higher quality homes. The Military Housing Innovation Act is a smart, low-cost step toward putting that design to work and lowering housing costs for the people who serve.” — Adam Kovacevich, Founder and CEO, Chamber of Progress
“Evidence shows that allowing buildings without redundant staircases unlocks housing affordability without compromising safety. Studying these designs for military housing could both bring costs down for military families and inform future standards the private sector could match. Subjecting building codes to cost-benefit analysis is a key step toward lowering the cost of construction and increasing housing affordability in the United States, and this bill sets a strong precedent for future action." — Will Poff-Webster, Director of Infrastructure Policy at IFP.
Read the full bill text here.
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