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Forbes Opening Statement for Hearing on Implementation of 2005 BRAC Recommendations
Washington D.C. – Ranking Republican Randy Forbes (R-VA) today released the following statement for the Readiness Subcommittee’s hearing on the implementation of the 2005 recommendations of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC):
“I thank the chairman and am honored to serve as his ranking member on this important and influential subcommittee. There is no chairman with whom I would rather serve than the honorable gentleman from Texas, who has a long and distinguished record of leadership as both chairman and ranking member of the Readiness Subcommittee.
“Since we have two panels of witnesses and many members present who wish to speak, I will keep my remarks brief. Even so, I must say at the outset that I am disappointed in the great increase in costs associated with this BRAC round and particularly concerned about the lengthy payback period reported by the GAO in its testimony. I was one of forty members who voted against BRAC when it was first voted upon several years ago, and it’s particularly disappointing because many of the concerns cited here today could have been predicted, and were predicted ahead of time. I understand that the authors of implementing legislation, suspicious of the fleeting nature of BRAC savings, deliberately required that the Secretary of Defense certify that this 2005 BRAC round would generate savings in six years in each military department, as a prerequisite for conducting the round.
“In fact, the Secretary of Defense did certify that the Departments of the Army, the Navy, and Air Force would each go into the black by 2011, not 2017, a full six years later, as reported today by the GAO. Let me be clear—the subcommittee is quite concerned that the Department failed to achieve a legally required Secretary of Defense certified objective by six years.
“I understand that in conducting the BRAC round, military value, not cost, was the primary criterion prescribed by the implementing legislation. I realize that the costs of construction have increased dramatically due to world wide competition for materials, that the Army and Marine Corps are leveraging the BRAC process to reset their forces, and that the whole Department used the BRAC round as a transformational enabler. While I support these transformational efforts and the increases in the Army and Marine Corps, it is still disappointing that more savings will not be realized.
“Nonetheless, the BRAC process was approved in 2005. And so, this is a hearing on the implementation of BRAC– there is no intent to change or undo the BRAC recommendations. The communities affected by BRAC deserve to know that Congress is committed to seeing the BRAC process through. However, we should take this opportunity to learn how to more effectively manage this process in any future rounds.
“BRAC is still expected to save $15 billion according to the GAO. Since the savings are coming late in the process, we will be watching closely to be sure the much touted military value of this BRAC round materializes. Mr. Grone’s testimony reinforces the complexity of executing this round, which I can appreciate. Even today, the Army has not announced the final locations of additional brigade combat teams, the Army’s major combat unit. Without that knowledge, military construction costs cannot be budgeted nor can local communities accomplish the necessary planning for schools, roads, and other amenities needed by an expanding population.
“I thank the Chairman for scheduling this hearing and for selecting a broad cross section of witness who can address all important aspects of this process, from the point of view of the Department of Defense to both gaining and losing communities. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses.”
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