Courtney, Bipartisan House Readiness Panel Overwhelmingly Reject New BRAC Round
Statement
Congressman Joe Courtney and the House Readiness Subcommittee today voted to reject a new round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), becoming the first subcommittee in the House to do so, when it passed its "mark" of the FY14 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA, HR 1960). Congressman Courtney has questioned Pentagon officials persistently over the past two years about the up-front costs of BRAC, and suggested that shouldering those costs does nothing to achieve savings under the Budget Control Act. With its approval today, the measure now heads to the full House Armed Services Committee for debate on June 5.
"Today's vote is the first on-the-record, official rejection of calls to begin another BRAC this Congress," said Congressman Courtney. "The sweeping, bipartisan nature of the vote shows that, for the second year in a row, the Pentagon has failed to make the case for a BRAC round to the House of Representatives. Given the massive up-front costs of a new BRAC round and the six year period it has taken prior BRACs to show any net savings, the process is totally incompatible with the Budget Control Act.
"Southeastern Connecticut knows all too well that we must stay vigilant in defending SUBASE New London. Since taking office, I have worked every day to ensure that our nation's "first and finest' submarine base is well positioned to carry out its core mission -- the support and training of our submarine force. I will continue to work with the Connecticut Congressional Delegation, Governor Malloy and the Connecticut Office of Military Affairs, as well as our experienced members of Team Connecticut to continue to support the base and its critical role in our nation's defense."
The section regarding BRAC says:
"Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize an additional Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round, and none of the funds appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations contained in this Act may be used to propose, plan for, or execute an additional BRAC round."
Congressman Courtney is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and serves on the Readiness Subcommittee, which has primary jurisdiction over legislation proposing base closings.
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