Military Base Closures: Agreement on a 2005 Round

Publication Date: January 2003

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

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Ninety-seven major military bases were recommended for closure and realignment by the 1988, 1991, 1993, and 1995 base realignment and closure (BRAC) commissions. Action on all 451 installations (major and minor) from the first four rounds was completed by the end of FY2001, as scheduled. The U.S. General Accounting Office has estimated that these closures and realignments produced net savings of about $16.7 billion as of the end of FY2001 and will continue to produce an estimated annual recurring savings thereafter of about $6.6 billion.

In mid-1997, Secretary of Defense William Cohen called for two new rounds of base closures and realignments. He explained that, while four previous rounds had achieved significant savings, it was important to continue the process of closing underutilized facilities. Despite DOD pressure, most Members of Congress were reluctant to support authorization of new base closure legislation, at least for the foreseeable future. The reasons given included, among others, grass-roots opposition from communities likely to be affected and President Clinton’s “intervention” in the 1995 base closure commission’s recommendations regarding McClellan and Kelly air force bases. Of the two chambers, the House of Representatives expressed the stronger and more united opposition. In the Senate, proponents of new base closure rounds have attempted to attach amendments to each year’s defense authorization bill since 1997, achieving success only toward the end of 2001.

The principal advocates in Congress for new base closures have been Senator John McCain and Senator Carl Levin. On February 27, 2001, they introduced legislation (S. 397) to authorize two new closure rounds in 2003 and 2005. On August 3, 2001, the Secretary of Defense submitted his own proposal to Congress, calling for one additional round in 2003. On September 6, 2001, the Senate’s defense panel incorporated elements of both proposals and passed the measure by a vote of 17 to 8. Later, in Senate floor debate (September 24, 2001), the Levin/McCain initiative passed by a margin of 53 to 47.

However, many Members of the House were reluctant to support S. 397, thus creating an impasse in the conference phase that delayed final passage of the FY 2002 defense legislation. Finally, on December 12, 2001, the conferees reached a compromise. They agreed to authorize one new round of base closures in 2005. They also added language that revised various aspects of previous base closure law – the most notable of which, perhaps, will be the enhanced role and influence of the Secretary of Defense in the base closure selection process. President Bush signed the defense authorization bill into law (P.L. 107-107) on December 28, 2001.

This report will be updated as warranted.