Pentagon backs McCain-Reed push for military base closures

The Defense Department supports legislation floated by Sens. John McCain and Jack Reed that would authorize a new round of military base closures around the country and set up a clash with the House, Lucian Niemeyer, a newly appointed assistant defense secretary who oversees installations, said Tuesday.

The chairman and top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee have drafted the legislation as a possible amendment to the Senate’s annual defense policy bill that will be debated on the chamber floor this month. But the House and McCain’s Armed Services counterpart in that chamber, Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, have long resisted a round of closures under the Base Realignment and Closure program, or BRAC.