Executive Summary

The United States military operates a vast network of installations both domestically and overseas. In the late 1980s, recognizing that U.S. laws had made it nearly impossible for the Pentagon to close domestic military installations, Congress established a novel process to address excess capacity in the military’s domestic installations known as Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). Under this process, Congress empowers an independent commission to evaluate the Pentagon’s recommendations for closing or realigning installations, and then Congress must vote on the recommendations as a single package without amendment. Adjusting for inflation, as well as environmental remediation costs and other concerns with the Pentagon’s estimate of net annual recurring savings, prior BRAC rounds are saving taxpayers an estimated $13.8 billion per year. From FY 2012 through FY 2023, prior BRAC rounds have saved taxpayers an estimated $166 billion.

Despite calls from previous BRAC Commissions and the Pentagon to authorize a new round of BRAC, Congress has not authorized a BRAC round since 2005. This can largely be attributed to political concerns stemming from the 2005 BRAC round’s higher-than-anticipated implementation costs and potential economic impacts on communities located near base realignments and closures.

However, by addressing cost drivers in the 2005 BRAC round—such as its subordination of cost and savings criteria to military value criteria—a future BRAC round could significantly reduce implementation costs. Furthermore, economic data on the counties that faced major closures as a result of the 2005 BRAC round show that, on average, in the decade following the closure announcements, impacted communities saw their unemployment rates drop by more than the change in the national average and saw their per capita personal incomes rise by nearly as much as the change in the national average.

Overseas base closures and realignments can also save taxpayer dollars and may be more easily achievable, as the executive branch has the authority to close or realign overseas installations without congressional approval. Reining in U.S. military installations overseas by addressing excess capacity can also help reduce regional tensions, mitigate direct risks to U.S. military personnel, and mitigate the risk of costly military escalations in defense of those personnel.

In light of the fiscal and national security benefits of reining in the U.S. military’s vast network of military installations, this report urges Congress and the executive branch to pursue additional realignments and closures to address excess military infrastructure. It urges a new BRAC process to address excess capacity domestically, and executive branch actions to address excess capacity overseas.