Capitol Monitor: Americans Have a Right to Know

Statement

The House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee, which I chair, held a hearing to examine the implications of two more rounds of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, which was proposed in the President's Fiscal Year 2013 budget and is expected to be formally requested by the Administration this week.

Dr. Dorothy Robyn, the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Installations and Environment, said, "Strategic and fiscal imperatives leave the department no alternative -- we must close and realign military bases here in the United States."

However, the administration has made these plans without providing any estimates of cost savings or other necessary details. Especially in light of the $487 billion in defense cuts already made and the specter of a further $500 billion reduction under sequestration, it is imperative that we know how this will impact our force structure in the near-term and long-term.

The bottom line is we need a lot more facts and rigorous analysis before we pass on another round of BRAC. I believe the American people have a right to know what these BRAC rounds will mean in the context of overall defense cuts -- and it is unfair to wait until after the election to share that information.

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