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House lawmakers press Transcom on global household goods contract after service members report costly moves
Summary
Representative Marilyn Strickland pressed General Randall Reed about service members' reports of delayed and costly moves under the global household goods contract, asking how Transcom will ensure transparency and reimbursement.
Representative Marilyn Strickland, whose district includes Joint Base Lewis–McChord, pressed General Randall Reed, commander of U.S. Transportation Command, on the transition to the global household goods contract (GHC) and on efforts to protect service members from the costs of failed or delayed moves.
Strickland said she continues to receive constituent reports of “stress, financial impact and failed moves” under the new contract and asked how Transcom was ensuring transparency, fiscal responsibility and accountability in HomeSafe Alliance's performance.
Reed described the transition as “conditions based” and said Transcom retained the legacy tender-of-service system while phasing in GHC to avoid harming service members. He said the GHC introduces IT systems that give the department greater visibility into moves and provide “levers that we can use to actually address performance shortfalls, not exactly something that we had before.”
On reimbursement, Reed said claims for inconvenience are filed under the GHC program and handled by HomeSafe Alliance. He told the committee that, as performance issues emerged, the number of claims has declined and “they've resolved those claims to 100%.”
Strickland and other members asked for regular, specific performance reporting. Reed said Transcom provides quarterly updates to Congress and works in real time with the vendor to address problems.
Members described continuing concerns about capacity during the summer peak moving season and requested that Transcom provide further transparency on move‑order splits between GHC and the legacy system, and on the department's processes for reimbursing out‑of‑pocket costs when service members are harmed by contractor performance.
Reed emphasized the command’s focus on service members and families and repeated that improved data visibility under GHC makes it easier to document problems and hold contractors accountable. He said Transcom continues to monitor and adjust transfer rates to prime contractors and will continue to provide congressional reporting on performance.
