Senate panel shoots down Pentagon request to close bases

The chairwoman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support said during a mark up that it’s not the right time for the U.S. military to get rid of infrastructure through base realignment and closure as threats facing the country go up.

“I do not want to give the department the open-ended authority to pursue another BRAC round that will incur significant up front costs when we do not have room in our budget over the next year to afford many fundamental readiness investments,” she said.

She also pointed out that many Republicans hope the next president will grow the military to a size where much of the infrastructure the Pentagon wants to close would be needed.

“It makes no sense to authorize a round of base closures when many of us are hopeful that the next admin will align its proposed defense budget with the size of the military we need to face the growing threats that we see around the world. We will need many of our bases DoD might propose to close to do that,” she said.

The Pentagon asked for the authority to close some of its excess infrastructure in its fiscal 2017 budget request. Officials promised it wouldn’t repeat mistakes of past base closures and release a report that stated about one-fifth of the military’s infrastructure was not needed.

The House Armed Services Committee’s version of the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act also does not authorize a round of base closures, meaning the final conference report will likely not do so either.

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., and ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, has promised to bring forward an amendment when the full House debates the bill this month to allow the military to conduct a round of base closures.

“In this current budget environment, rather than waste money on excess infrastructure, we need to locate potential efficiencies and ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely,” Smith said in a statement.