The Panderer Wins on Military Base Closings

(Washington, D.C.) – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today criticized Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry’s promise to halt or delay the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process if he is elected in November.  Senator Kerry’s remark came during a campaign stop in New Mexico, a battleground state whose economy is heavily influenced by the presence of military bases.

“Candidate Kerry is playing politics with national security,” CCAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “As a senator, he voted in favor of BRAC three times, but as a candidate, he is pandering to potential voters.  If Mr. Kerry really believed in stopping BRAC, he should have cast his vote in the Senate on May 18.”

In Kerry’s absence, the Senate defeated by a vote of 49-47 an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2005 Defense Authorization Act (S. 2400) that would have delayed the 2005 BRAC round until 2007.  Members of Congress who oppose BRAC usually do so because the economies of their districts and states depend on the bases.

“While most members of Congress vote against BRAC to please their constituents, candidate Kerry is taking it to a national scale, catering to a few swing voters at the expense of the rest of the country,” Schatz continued.

Since 1988, the DOD has closed 97 major installations and realigned the mission at an additional 55 installations.  The process has resulted in a net $17 billion in savings with an annual recurring savings of $7 billion.  The Pentagon could save another $3 billion a year by eliminating surplus facilities.

The Department of Defense released a report in March showing 24 percent "excess capacity" at more than 400 domestic bases, certifying the need for another round of base closings in 2005.  Kerry wanted a more thorough investigation, and called for having “the Joint Chiefs sitting in front of me.”  But the Joint Chiefs have already endorsed the 2005 BRAC.  Kerry was even more disingenuous when he claimed that the world had changed since he voted in favor of base closings in 2001.  In fact, the world had already changed – the vote to allow a round of base closings in 2003 took place on September 24, 2001.  By the time the final 2002 DOD authorization bill was negotiated, the closings were delayed to 2005, and if Kerry had his way, they would be held up indefinitely.

“The idea there needs to be any more review here is absurd,” Schatz concluded.  “This process of closing superfluous bases has been in place for 16 years.  Sen. Kerry is citing national defense and touting his war record as reasons to vote for him, but keeping these unnecessary bases open will adversely affect security by taking away potential billions of dollars that could be used for better weapons, more supplies, and higher pay for our troops at home and abroad.  We’re seeing candidate Kerry fighting Sen. Kerry over BRAC, and it’s time for the candidate to put aside election-year brownnosing and do what he once thought was in the country’s best interest.”

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in government.