Military Base Closures: Implementing the 2005 Round

Abstract

On November 15, 2002, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced the first steps in implementing the new 2005 base realignment and closure (BRAC) law. These included development of a force structure plan, comprehensive inventory of military installations, and establishment of criteria for selecting bases for closure and realignment. More recently, on March 23, 2004, the Secretary of Defense submitted a report to Congress confirming the need for a further BRAC round and certifying that an additional round of closures and realignments would result in annual net savings, over a period ending no later than FY2011. On the next day, Representative Solomon Ortiz, ranking Member of the House defense subcommittee, introduced a bill that would postpone BRAC 2005 for two years. He said that DOD should concentrate on its review of global facilities abroad before shutting down bases at home. Other Members expressed similar qualms about the timing of the new BRAC round. Later, on May 12, 2004, before the full House defense committee, Representative Gene Taylor offered an amendment to terminate the 2005 round. The committee, however, ultimately adopted Representative Joel Hefley's more moderate stand of a two-year delay. On May 18, 2004, the full Senate voted 47 to 49 against an amendment offered by Senator Trent Lott, as well as others, that would delay any closing of U.S. domestic bases until 2007. On May 20, 2004, the full House voted 259 to 162 to delay base closings until 2007. In response to this action, the White House immediately released a statement declaring that the Secretary of Defense, and other senior advisers, would urge the President to veto any bill that weakened, delayed, or repealed the current base closure authority. On September 23, 2004, at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on global force posture, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld reiterated the Pentagon's veto stand.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 09, 2004
Accession Number
ADA515481

Entities

People

  • David E. Lockwood

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force Facilities
  • Base Closures
  • Congress
  • Department Of Defense
  • Economic Impact
  • Environment
  • Force Structure
  • Governments
  • Homeland Security
  • Law
  • Local Governments
  • Military Facilities
  • National Security
  • Naval Shore Facilities
  • Security
  • Training
  • United States

Readers

  • Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Proposed Air Force Base Actions.
  • Government and Public Administration Law.