In the News

After touring Tinker Air Force Base with two key lawmakers, U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn on Friday praised the work being done to sustain critical aircraft and said progress was being made to repair housing units recently cited as a health threat.

Horn, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, visited the base with Reps. John Garamendi, the California Democrat who chairs the subcommittee on Readiness, and Doug Lamborn, of Colorado, the top Republican on the subcommittee.

“I think they were very impressed with Tinker,” said Horn, D-Oklahoma City.

“I don’t see how you wouldn’t be impressed with Tinker and the work that they’re doing out there. … The creativity that they’re using to problem solve and reduce costs is impressive.”

Poor housing conditions at Tinker and other bases were exposed in a detailed report by the Reuters news agency. Active military duty personnel and their families had trouble getting the companies to make repairs and, according to testimony at hearings, military leaders failed to get involved.

Horn said she and her colleagues visited a housing unit on Friday and were briefed on repairs being made to a water line that had leaked and caused numerous problems.

“In the privatization (of military housing), the oversight by all of the service branches went down substantially,” Horn said.