Lucian Niemeyer, newly appointed assistant defense secretary for installations, has said the Defense Department backs a Senate bill that would push for a new round of base realignment and closures, Washington Examiner reported Tuesday.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Arizona) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island), SASC ranking member, drafted the measure as a possible amendment to the upper chamber’s fiscal 2018 defense policy bill that is scheduled for debate this month.
Niemeyer said Tuesday at a Heritage Foundation event the BRAC authorization that seeks to shut down underutilized military facilities could help DoD generate savings and focus on the development of new military platforms.
“For us, it’s not just a matter of finding efficiencies, it’s a matter of improving the military value and the effectiveness and lethality of our military forces,” he said.
“That’s why we continue to push hard, and we support the Senate’s attempt to try to get a BRAC authorization inserted into the [2018] defense authorization act.”
The Hill also reported the draft proposal from McCain and Reed would require DoD to compile and submit a list of potential military base closures to the Government Accountability Office for review.
The White House-certified BRAC list should be submitted to Congress by the fall of 2019 under the proposed bill.
The Senate measure would also impose a $5 billion cap on military base closures and would direct DoD to begin BRAC by 2021, the report added.
