FACT CHECK: Did Project 2025 Call For Cutting US Troops Housing Allowance?

A post shared on X claims that the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 wants to cut the military’s basic allowance for housing (BAH).

THEY WANT TO CUT BAH ENTIRELY.

PROJECT 2025 by @Heritage_Action does not think service members are deserving of housing allowances.

YALL SHUT THE F UP and READ THIS pic.twitter.com/pwL6NaSWXx

— Mal (@malhdavis) July 2, 2024

Verdict: Misleading

Project 2025 is led by the Heritage Foundation, not Heritage Action. While the Heritage Foundation’s FY2023 budget proposals does call for reducing BAH, it is not from Project 2025 itself.

Fact Check:

President Joe Biden has increased his attacks on Project 2025, a project that seeks to provide policy and personnel recommendations to the next Republican president, according to CBS News. Former President Donald Trump has distanced himself from the project while Biden’s campaign has sought to tie him to it, the outlet reported.

Social media users are claiming that Project 2025 is calling to cut BAH. One user wrote, “THEY WANT TO CUT BAH ENTIRELY. PROJECT 2025 by @Heritage_Action does not think service members are deserving of housing allowances. YALL SHUT THE F UP and READ THIS.”

There are several inaccuracies with this claim. First, the image shows policy recommendations from the Heritage Foundation, not Heritage Action. Heritage Action is a conservative advocacy organization, not a think tank, though “is armed with the research and policies of The Heritage Foundation,” according to its about page.

Second, the policy recommendations are from the Heritage Foundation itself, not Project 2025. Project 2025 is “organized by The Heritage Foundation,” but is also a “broad coalition of over 100 conservative organizations has come together to form the project pillars,” according to the project’s website.

Third, while the Heritage Foundation did call for reducing BAH, it did not call for it to be eliminated in its entirety. The policy proposal does state that U.S. military “[s]ervicemembers are not entitled to—and should not be able to—retain ‘extra compensation’ from money above what they pay for housing.”

“Congress should reform the rules for the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), restoring it to its proper role as an allowance, by having married military couples share a single allowance and having all servicemembers document their housing expenditures to receive the allowance,” the policy proposal reads.

Cody Sargent, a spokesperson for Heritage Action, told Check Your Fact in an email that “there are a couple glaring inaccuracies with the post at first glance.” (RELATED: Fact-Checking Trump’s Claim That Biden ‘Doesn’t Need Congress’ To Close The Border)

“First, Project 2025 is led by The Heritage Foundation and more than 100 partners, not Heritage Action. Secondly, the BAH suggestion cited is for Fiscal Year 2023, which is in large letters in the screenshot posted…” Sargent said.

Ellen Sargent, a Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 spokesperson, told Check Your Fact that the image shown “is from a separate Heritage document, the Budget Blueprint for Fiscal Year 2023.” Sargent directed Check Your Fact to page 104 of “Mandate for Leadership.”

“1. Support legislation to increase wages and family allowances for active duty enlisted personnel. No uniformed personnel should ever have to rely on social benefits like as food stamps or public housing assistance,” the passage reads.

“Its also worth noting that the Budget plan is Congress focused while the Mandate is executive focused,” Sargent said.