Authorize a New BRAC

Lawrence J. Korb and Katherine Blakeley on why Congress should authorize a new BRAC.

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In their markup of this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the US House Armed Services Committee has once again rejected the Pentagon’s request to have another Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission, along with the rest of the Pentagon’s strategic choices. Ranking Member Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., planned to offer an amendment authorizing a 2017 BRAC round when the bill was considered on the House floor, but the House Rules Committee refused to rule it in order, preventing Smith’s amendment from being debated or voted on.

The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) has been equally stubborn, with the Readiness subcommittee prohibiting a BRAC round in its markup of the bill. Members from both parties and houses have made their antagonism to BRAC plain. In the words of HASC Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., BRAC is “for sure” not going to be in this year’s defense authorization bill.

The above excerpt was originally published in Defense News. Click here to view the full article.

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