Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of a military department, or the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, may enter into a contract for the lease of family housing units to be constructed or rehabilitated to residential use near a military installation within the United States under the Secretary’s jurisdiction at which there is a shortage of family housing. Housing units leased under this section shall be assigned, without rental charge, as family housing to members of the armed forces who are eligible for assignment to military family housing.

Each contract under subsection (a) shall be awarded through the use of publicly advertised, competitively bid, or competitively negotiated, contracting procedures as provided in chapter 137 1 of this title. In accordance with such procedures, the Secretary of a military department, or the Secretary of Homeland Security, as the case may be, shall solicit bids or proposals for a contract for the lease of military housing authorized in accordance with subsection (b)(1). Such a contract may provide for the contractor of the housing facilities to operate and maintain such housing facilities during the term of the lease.

A contract under this section may be for any period not in excess of 20 years (excluding the period required for construction of the housing facilities).

A contract under this section shall provide that, upon the termination of the lease period, the United States shall have the right of first refusal to acquire all right, title, and interest to the housing facilities constructed and leased under the contract.

A contract may be entered into for the lease of housing facilities under this section only after the end of the 14-day period beginning on the date on which the Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, submits, in an electronic medium pursuant to section 480 of this title, to the appropriate committees of Congress an economic analysis (based upon accepted life cycle costing procedures) which demonstrates that the proposed contract is cost-effective when compared with alternative means of furnishing the same housing facilities.

A contract for the lease of family housing under this section may include provision for the lease of a child care center, civic center building, and similar type buildings constructed for the support of family housing.