Secretary of Defense James Mattis is requesting that Congress provide the Department of Defense with the authorization to close several bases in an attempt to reign in its budget.
As it stands, the DoD is 19 percent over its capacity, so it has decided to place its excess infrastructure on the chopping block.
As reported at the Daily Caller, in early October, Mattis penned a letter to Congress asking them to authorize a BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) round in 2021. That’s when Congress and the military get together to decide what bases are a priority and which can be closed.
“Since the last BRAC round we have developed new methods of warfare, new technologies, and expanded needs for Warfighters training that require us to assess the military value and effectiveness of our domestic military infrastructure,” Mattis wrote in a letter to Congress dated October 6.
“In addition, every unnecessary facility we maintain requires us to cut capabilities elsewhere. I must be able to eliminate excess infrastructure in order to shift resources to readiness and modernization.”
The DoD report shows that the Army has way more bases than it needs, as its estimated excess capacity is at 29 percent. Similarly, the Air Force is 28 percent over what it needs.
After seeing the report, House Committee on Armed Services ranking member Democratic Rep. Adam Smith issued a statement saying that the case for a BRAC round is “extremely strong.”
“We are wasting taxpayer money to maintain buildings and facilities that the military does not need, while we drain away funds for readiness and weaponry that could keep our service members safe and our country secure,” Smith said. While the one area Democrats are willing to cut is defense, you should still look out your window to see if pigs are flying, seeing how wasting taxpayer money is every liberals’ life’s calling.
For years the Pentagon has been asking Congress for another BRAC round, but the reality is there’s a political reason why they’ve ignored the requests. No member of Congress wants to risk having a base in their district closed, as they’re an easy way to funnel taxpayer funds to their districts, not to mention the potential for constituent anger if they’re closed.
To give you an idea just how cowardly Congress is, the last BRAC round was in 2005, and Mattis is asking for another by 2021. Which is an insanely large gap to begin with. Our military has drastically changed since 2005, as we were in the midst of a war at the time, not to mention the technological and strategic shifts that have been made since then.
Yet it’s like pulling teeth for the DoD to do something that actually will lower their ridiculous spending and make them more efficient overall. For all the talk about reigning in spending and doing what’s best for the military, the clowns in Congress sure to leave themselves open to be labeled hypocrites.
This is the easiest way to not only save money, but do something that military leaders are pleading for. So keep an eye on how your representatives respond to see if they’re a person of integrity, or just determined to get re-elected and stay addicted to the slush funds that bases bring.
Source: Daily Caller