Federal agents this week raided an office in Oklahoma used by a private housing company at the center of an ongoing investigation into shoddy living conditions for troops on military bases.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican, confirmed this week that agents with the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations and the EPA jointly executed a search warrant at an office on Tinker Air Force Base used by officials with Balfour Beatty Communities.
The search was related to an investigation into suspected violations of the Clean Air Act, Mr. Inhofe said.
“While this matter is still very much under investigation, should these or any other ongoing investigations be substantiated, Balfour Beatty and those who perpetrated any wrongdoing against our military families must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Mr. Inhofe said in his statement.
Balfour Beatty Communities, which is owned by a British construction company, manages base housing on more than 50 military posts throughout the nation. Multiple lawsuits and media investigations have chronicled complaints about poor living conditions at the homes owned by them and several other private military companies.
The company acknowledged in a statement that it had received the subpoena.
“The investigation is connected to the matter of asbestos flooring removal that was reported in September 2019,” the statement said. “When that event occurred, BBC promptly and voluntarily reported the incident to the local Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.”
Balfor Beatty said it will “continue to cooperate fully with the investigation.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.