Convincing Congress to Authorize Defense Base Realignment and Closure

Each year, Congress overwhelmingly rejects the DoDs request for another round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC),claiming previous rounds did not achieve anticipated savings, and that the present is an inappropriate time to close military bases. However, the first four rounds from 1988 to 1995 saved $16.7 billion in annual base operations support costs through2001 and an estimated $6.6 billion annually thereafter. Although BRAC 2005 cost $14 billion more than originally estimated, it produced an annual recurring savings of $3 billion. Expected to save at least $3 billion per year, a future BRAC would improve military effectiveness by allowing the DoD to shift money to underfunded military programs that directly support the warfighter and consolidate similar functions at fewer bases. Opponents of BRAC worry about the cost of closing bases to the local community; job loss being the primary concern. However, most local economies surrounding closed bases recover within two to six years and become more sustainable through proactive community reutilization planning and federal transition assistance. In order to convince Congress to authorize another round of BRAC, the DoD must present Congress, military communities, and the defense industry specific and compelling evidence that the continued expenditure on excess installation capacity poses a greater risk to national security and their interests than BRACs costs and second-order effects.