{
  "id": "97-305",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "97-305",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 305470,
      "date": "2004-10-18",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T20:06:26.335844",
      "title": "Military Base Closures: A Historical Review from 1988 to 1995",
      "summary": "The United States has experienced difficulty in closing military bases to match the requirements\nof\ndownsized forces with changed composition. During the decade of the 1980s, major military base\nclosures were seriously hampered by procedural requirements established by Congress, to the point\nthat none occurred. The mismatch between real estate assets and defense requirements grew with\nthe military downsizing that began late in the Reagan Administration and continued under Presidents\nGeorge H. W. Bush and Clinton. \n  After several legislative efforts to break the deadlock had failed, Congress established a new\nbase closure procedure in  P.L. 100-526 , enacted October 24, 1988. The statute provided for a\nbipartisan commission, appointed by the Secretary of Defense, to make recommendations to\nCongress on closures and realignments to be voted down or accepted as a whole. The process was\nsuccessfully implemented, but produced complaints of partisanship in selecting bases for closure. \n P.L. 101-510 , enacted November 5, 1990, provided new authority for additional base closure\nrecommendations by a series of presidentially appointed commissions (with the advice and consent\nof the Senate), commonly called Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commissions. These\ncommissions were to operate in 1991, 1993, and 1995, after which the authority of the final base\nclosure commission would end.\n  The four commissions recommended closure of 98 major bases and hundreds of smaller\ninstallations, and the realignment of many other bases and facilities. These recommendations were\nestimated to be implemented and completed by the year 2001. The Department of Defense at one\ntime estimated savings of about $57 billion over 20 years.\n  At the community level, in turn, implementation of the base closure process commenced. \nCongress has amended the base closure legislation several times to protect and assist communities\nas they adjust to the social and economic stress caused by the loss of military installations. Many,\nbut by no means all, communities appeared to be succeeding in local efforts to replace defense jobs\nand find new uses for former military lands and buildings.\n  After expiration of the authorizing legislation, a number of influential leaders recommended\nestablishment of a new commission and the closure of additional bases and facilities. These\nadvocates included the chairman of the 1995 commission, Alan Dixon, former Defense Secretary\nWilliam Perry, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman John Shalikashvili. In Congress, many felt that\ninfrastructure costs diverted money from modernization and sapped the readiness of America's\narmed forces. Against these pressures to cut military real estate further was caution concerning\nfurther military cuts, as well as the traditional reluctance of Senators and Representatives to lose\nfederal jobs and disrupt communities in their state or district. \n  Subsequently, new authorizing legislation by the Congress was required to reconstitute base\nclosure and realignment through the commission approach.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "American Law",
    "Economic Policy",
    "Energy Policy",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}