Turner Defends BRAC Funding Request for Wright-Patt Jobs

Statement

Recently I warned that Speaker Pelosi and the new majority lived up to some of our worst concerns and have cut $3.1 billion, more than half, of the president's requested budget to implement the BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) recommendations. This dramatically increases the risk that the Department of Defense (DoD) will not be able to meet its statutory deadline to implement the BRAC Commission recommendations by fiscal year 2011. This jeopardizes the jobs slated to come to our region at Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB). It also increases the risk that nationally, the BRAC savings will be reduced, and raises the chances of delaying or postponing scheduled redeployments of military personnel and their families from overseas stations to the United States.

One of the possible remedies was for the Senate to put the funding back into the budget, giving us the chance to correct the House leadership's deficiencies in the conference reconciliation process. Unfortunately, the Senate has not gotten its work done. Now, BRAC funding for fiscal year 2007, as well as 2008, is in danger. Along with the fund, the jobs won in the BRAC process are in jeopardy.

Bringing jobs to the region and supporting the work being done at WPAFB are among my highest priorities. The research being done at Wright-Patt today provides the U.S. military with its advantages on the battlefields of tomorrow.

On February 14, I testified before the House Budget Committee. I testified about the importance of fully funding the BRAC account. The following is from my testimony to the Budget Committee. It explains the BRAC process and my advocacy on behalf of our community:

The House voted overwhelmingly in support of the BRAC recommendations. Congress began action on the latest round of BRAC in 2002. Every year since then, Congress has taken action supporting the process, including last year when Congress once again overwhelmingly supported the BRAC recommendations. On November 9, 2005, the BRAC recommendations officially took effect, marking the end of a three-year process and the beginning of another six-year process of realignment and closure.

Congress designed BRAC as a deliberate, slow process outside the political process. It is hypocritical of Congress to create a process, support it, clamor for its funding, and then reduce its funding. The BRAC recommendations have the force and effect of law and it is the responsibility of Congress to see the process is completed.

The Administration's FY2008 Budget calls for the authorization of nearly $8.2 billion for BRAC implementation. This funding request is based upon the schedule created by the Department of Defense to meet the military construction needs as a result of BRAC. The full authorization of this account is necessary to meet the statutory deadline imposed by Congress, of 2011. A failure to meet the budget request level will jeopardize the implementation timeline and degrade readiness at our military facilities.

The military services and many communities throughout the country have begun making specific plans to prepare for missions either lost or gained under BRAC. In the case of Dayton, Ohio, partnerships between academia, industry and research institutions formed to ensure that during the BRAC transition a minimal human capital impact occurs in the science and technology fields. A substantial funding cut to implement the BRAC recommendations risks the plans that my and other communities have spent months creating. A reduced authorization increases the risk that nationally, the BRAC savings will be reduced, raises the chances of delaying or postponing scheduled redeployments of military personnel and their families, and undermines the BRAC process that Congress established.

In FY2007, the House Budget Resolution supported the Administration's $5.6 billion budget request for BRAC. The House Armed Services Committee fully authorized the funding for BRAC and the military construction appropriations subcommittee supported the funding of BRAC. However, the Senate was not able to finish its work, requiring the creation of continuing resolutions to fund government operations.

The new House majority's continuing funding resolution, cut BRAC implementation in FY2007 by $3.1 billion, raising serious questions on whether the Department of Defense could meet the statutory deadline of 2011. Rep. David Obey, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said last week he is planning to add the missing BRAC funding to the war supplemental request that the administration submitted to Congress. If the Appropriations Committee does not provide additional funds for BRAC in FY2007, the Budget Committee would need to increase the FY2008 Budget request for BRAC by $3 billion, from $8.2 billion to $11.2 billion, in order to put the implementation timeline back on track.

Supporting $8.2 billion in FY2008 for BRAC is a necessary step toward realizing the savings from BRAC and protecting the integrity of the BRAC process. A majority of Congress supported BRAC and it was Congress that created the BRAC process. Including the requested $8.2 billion for BRAC in the House Budget Resolution enables the military services and the civilian personnel to continue their planning for possible relocation. I encourage the Budget Committee to support the request for $8.2 billion for BRAC in the Budget Resolution.

Ensuring that BRAC is fully funded is important for a number of reasons, including bringing jobs to WPAFB and the region. I will continue to make those jobs, and supporting Wright-Patt, one of my top priorities.

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