24 U.S.C. § 411 — Establishment of the Armed Forces Retirement Home

(a) Independent establishment. The Armed Forces Retirement Home^* is its own independent agency within the executive branch.

(b) Purpose. The Retirement Home exists to provide residences and related services, through two facilities — the Armed Forces Retirement Home—Washington and the Armed Forces Retirement Home—Gulfport — for certain retired and former members of the Armed Forces.

(c) Facilities. Each of these two facilities is its own separate establishment within the Retirement Home. The former United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home is now called the Armed Forces Retirement Home—Washington, and the former Naval Home is now called the Armed Forces Retirement Home—Gulfport.

(d) Operation. The Chief Operating Officer heads the whole Retirement Home and answers to the Secretary of Defense. Each facility is run separately for administrative purposes, under an Administrator who in turn answers to the Chief Operating Officer. But the Secretary of Defense keeps overall control of administration, including health care and medical care for residents.

(e) Property and facilities. The Retirement Home's property includes whatever it acquires under paragraph (2) below or accepts under section 415(f) of this title. The Chief Operating Officer can acquire property and facilities for the Home, but if buying real estate outright would cost more than $750,000, that purchase needs specific authorization by law. If the Chief Operating Officer decides some property isn't needed anymore, it must be disposed of under subchapter III of chapter 5 of title 40, and any proceeds go into the Armed Forces Retirement Home Trust Fund^*.

(f) Department of Defense support. The Secretary of Defense may give the Retirement Home free (nonreimbursable) help from the Department of Defense — administrative support, office services, legal and policy planning help, access to Inspector General investigative resources, and any other support the Home needs to do its job.

(g) Accreditation. The Chief Operating Officer must get and keep accreditation from a recognized civilian accrediting organization for every part of every facility — medical and dental care, pharmacy, independent living, and assisted living and nursing care.

(h) Annual report. Each year, the Secretary of Defense must send Congress a report on the Retirement Home's finances and other affairs, including an assessment of the quality of care at each facility.

(i) Leasing non-excess property. With the Secretary of Defense's approval, the Chief Operating Officer may lease out Retirement Home property — real or personal — that is under the Home's control and not already "excess property" up for disposal, whenever the Chief Operating Officer thinks it will help the Home.

A lease under this power generally can't run more than five years, unless a longer lease would help the Home's purpose and finances or serve the public interest. The lease may give the lessee first right to buy the property if the lease is ever revoked so the property can be sold. The lease must normally let the Chief Operating Officer revoke it at any time, unless leaving that right out would better serve the Home or the public interest. The lessee must pay at least fair market value for the lease, in cash or in kind, as the Chief Operating Officer determines. The lease may let the lessee pay part or all of that value by altering, repairing, or improving the property instead of paying cash — even overriding another law that would normally require cash. And no lease can require the Home to pay the lessee back ("lease back" arrangement) more than $100,000 a year, or otherwise commit the Home or the Department of Defense to yearly payments above that amount.

Besides the in-kind payments already mentioned, a lease's in-kind consideration can also include: maintaining, protecting, altering, repairing, improving, or restoring (including environmental cleanup of) the Home's property or facilities; building new facilities for the Home; providing facilities for the Home to use; supporting facility operations for the Home; or providing other services related to activities on the leased property, as the Chief Operating Officer sees fit. This in-kind payment can be accepted at any property or facility the Chief Operating Officer selects for that purpose.

If a lease's in-kind consideration is worth more than $500,000, the Chief Operating Officer must wait at least 30 days after reporting the lease's details to Congress before signing it — unless the lease instead falls under the competitive-bidding rule described next.

If a proposed lease involves only personal property, runs more than a year, or has a fair market value over $100,000, the Chief Operating Officer generally must use competitive procedures to pick the lessee. The one exception is if the Chief Operating Officer decides that a lease serves the public interest and that competitive bidding is either impossible or incompatible with that public benefit. At least 45 days before signing such a lease, the Chief Operating Officer must give Congress written notice of the lease's terms, and either describe the competitive process used or explain the public benefit behind skipping it.

Proceeds from leasing property under this subsection go into the Armed Forces Retirement Home Trust Fund^*.

State and local governments may tax a lessee's interest in leased property. If a later Act of Congress makes the leased property taxable by state or local governments, the lease must then be renegotiated.