House Debate over BRAC Draws Presidential Veto Threat 

(Washington, D.C.) – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today applauded the Senate for defeating an amendment to the fiscal 2005 defense authorization act (S. 2400) that would have delayed the 2005 round of base closings until 2007.  The House is now debating H.R. 4200, reported last week by the House Armed Services Committee, which delays the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process for two years.  The President yesterday issued a veto threat against any version of a defense authorization bill that would delay or cancel the closures. 

“With our nation at war, the Department of Defense (DOD) should be able to divest itself of unnecessary military facilities,” CCAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “The only reason members of Congress interfere with BRAC is to protect bases in their home districts and states.”
The DOD released a report in March showing 24 percent "excess capacity" at more than 400 bases across the U.S.  The report officially certified the need for another round of base closings in 2005.  Since 1988, the DOD has closed 97 major installations and realigned the mission at an additional 55 installations.  The process has resulted in a net $17 billion in savings with an annual recurring savings of $7 billion.  The Bush administration says the Pentagon could save another $3 billion a year by eliminating surplus facilities. 

“The purpose of the U.S. military is to defend against foreign aggressors, not to prop up local economies across the country,” Schatz continued.  “There is no national security justification to delay BRAC.  The resulting savings can be used for other important military expenditures, such as improving our fighting capabilities with better and more precise weaponry and intelligence, buying more armor-plated Humvees, or improving the quality of life for our military forces, such as paying them a higher and well-deserved salary.”

Passed in 1988, BRAC is one of the most important legacies of President Reagan’s Grace Commission, which recommended an independent commission to study base realignment and closure as a way of getting around congressional anxiety over military bases closures in home districts.  The bipartisan effort to delay BRAC is led by members attempting to protect bases in their districts and states, including: Sens. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), and Reps. Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas),  and Gene Taylor (D-Miss.).  Mississippi and Massachusetts are also paying high-priced Washington lobbyists to look out for bases in those states.

 “President Bush is right to issue a veto threat,” Schatz concluded.  “House leaders must be proactive to prevent a minority of members from passing ‘poison pill’ amendments that scuttle the base closing process.”

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.