Opinion / Budget, Reform

An Open Letter on BRAC

Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force, from U.S. Army Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter/12191099964/in/photolist-jzhzhG-bvkaM1-nZHJ7t-fCgfT5-bkVska-9t9tKt-edB3BU-ai8aj1-cckBxd-9jasaV-dpttrE-8ctm3g-bggzpr-9NYvNY-8RULJA-diZohh-8LyQL8-933AQq-cToK3m-9jdtn1-bNfJsi-e4FTeZ-bUpUKV-7XtNbT-7ZiXZa-5n9pWD-dcDkXc-e83wi4-fabKih-eaKeqy-MaNUY-dehHi3-e6TzpF-bnyPSc-dicfhX-arbAat-bq789o-8cG9uK-fm9TNs-4bqgL9-bo6EqN-ekNKJc-6bB5sr-h7hfX2-cSM4YN-bVeaiX-cckBvG-8CuWWk-9JqrBN-4bqgT5

CSIS experts Todd Harrison, Kathleen Hicks, Andrew Hunter, Mark Cancian, and Raymond DuBois recently signed an open letter calling on members of Congress to authorize a round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). The letter represents a bipartisan consensus from across the think tank community that Congress should approve the base closures requested by the Trump administration as a means of reducing excess military infrastructure.

Todd Harrison, CSIS’s director of Defense Budget Analysis, noted that, “Without congressional authority to close unneeded bases, the Defense Department is forced to spend precious resources maintaining facilities it does not need. People like to talk about rooting out waste and inefficiency in the defense budget. Closing excess bases and facilities offers a concrete way of doing that.”

The letter, signed by 45 experts from 33 organizations across the political spectrum, observes that as of 2019, the Defense Department will have 22% excess capacity. It responds to existing concerns over the impact of base closures on local economies and the up front costs associated with them, ultimately concluding that BRAC will contribute to billions of dollars in savings and more effectively serve base communities that could face a piece meal downsizing process instead.

Download Letter Here

(Photo courtesy of U.S. Army/Air Force, Justin Connaher)

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