A subcommittee in the House of Representatives has voted to prohibit the Defense Department from closing domestic U.S. military bases and installations.
“Strategy not budget should drive national security decisions and I won’t support a reduction in our infrastructure until I’m confident our nation’s readiness and our military won’t suffer,” Rep. Robert Wittman (R-VA) said.
“The Pentagon next year plans to spend a total of $606 billion,” reports Brendan McGarry at DoD Buzz. “That figure includes a base budget of $526.6 billion and $79.4 billion for the war in Afghanistan, according to figures the department disclosed on May 20. It doesn’t include the next round of automatic federal budget cuts, known as sequestration, which may total as much as $51 billion.”
The discussion of base closures comes out of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, or BRAC, which has gone through several such efforts in the past.
The country maintains an enormous standing army. Only two of the 50 states – Rhode Island and New Hampshire – have no Army bases.
The House committee blocked the funding required to close the bases despite recommendations to do so from the Pentagon.
If Congress doesn’t authorize closing the bases, the Army “will be forced to retain installation infrastructure that will become excess to its requirements and thereby jeopardize spending on forces, training and modernization,” said Pentagon spokesman Dave Foster in April of 2012.
Here in Virginia BRAC strikes fear into the whole state. In Hampton Roads we have what seems like half the U.S Navy stationed here so you can say we are a major part of the MIC. If just one base was closed I would guess there would be no end to the outrage. Oceana comes up almost every time the BRAC comes out, and you would think if that base closed we would be no more. Never mind that we have Norfolk naval base here. We have so many bases here I think we should be called Hampton Roads military base.
National security and again national security.., is the tools (wording) that used to secure these people's security income.., without such wording they wouldn't have any security income.., now would they.
OK, so Congress won't authorize the closure of the unnecessary bases…so why doesn't the Pentagon just move the military function that base supposedly justifies to another base – under the ruse of "consolidation/force restructure" and when the reason for the base is no longer there…keeping it open would be obviously stupid…even for a Congresscritter. In many cases, the civilian personnel that the Congresscritter is so worried about may have to drive a few miles farther…but they'd still have a job. When the Pentagon started closing/consolidating military installations in Germany, I don't remember hearing about any Congress members up in arms about the DoD civilian employees who were losing their jobs or having to relocate back to CONUS. Could it be that was because they were basically not represented in Congress so Congress didn't care?
The President as CIC and the Pentagon have the means to step around the Congressional obstinance.
Rep. Robert Witless: I need the pork to keep flowing into my district so I can stay in office.