NEW CLOSURE PROCESS

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>]

NEW CLOSURE PROCESS

This is the portion of the May 6, 1997 Pentagon Press Briefing dealing 
with Defense Secretary Cohen's decision to move forward with additional 
base closures. As the text explains, the process is by no means 
decided, but it's going to happen.

Lenny Siegel

Q: How about physically attenuating the base structure? Could you walk 
us through the plans for the BRAC and mechanics? It's been widely 
reported on the wires... 

A: I cannot walk you through the plans or the mechanics. I can speak at 
great length about the BRAC process and would be glad to give you a 
history lesson on what we've done in the past, but let me just tell you 
what Secretary Cohen has said and what's shaping his thinking in this 
regard. 

We've had four rounds of base closures and realignments, as you know. 
As of today, we have contracted our base structure -- both at home and 
abroad -- by 18 percent. In other words, we've reduced our base 
infrastructure by 18 percent. During that same period, we have reduced 
the size of the force by 33-1/3 percent, and of course we've reduced 
our procurement spending by almost 70 percent from its peak before the 
end of the Cold War. 

So the reduction in base infrastructure has not kept up with the 
reduction in force. 

When the current BRAC round, the last BRAC round is completed in 2001, 
the contraction in the base structure will have been 21 percent, which 
still lags behind the 33 percent reduction in force. 

So Secretary Cohen looked at that and concluded that we are carrying 
and paying for more infrastructure than we need. He concluded that we 
had to cut our infrastructure, and one way to cut is to seek another 
BRAC round, so he will seek additional base closures. There will be 
other ways that he'll focus on as well, or the report will focus on, to 
cut infrastructure spending. It may be that he'll mention a few of 
those tonight in his speech to the Business Executives for National 
Security, because he'll be dealing with the adoption of business 
practices, sort of a revolution in business practices at the Defense 
Department. 

Q: One clarification. If he does seek an additional BRAC, would the 
mechanics be that the Administration would send a bill up to request 
that from Congress? Or would he just make it part of the QDR report? 
How would that be executed if he decides to formally request that? 

A: Of course we're part of the Administration, so it would be the 
Administration that would fall in behind further base reductions. I 
expect we would submit legislation. We would request legislation 
establishing another BRAC Commission, is my sense. 

Q: There is no such bill pending up there now, right? 

A: I'd say that's definitely true. As far as I know, there's nobody in 
Congress pushing for more BRACs right now. 

Q: Lastly, could we definitely say that you intend to ask for another 
BRAC? 

A: I think what you can say for sure is that he intends to look for 
ways to reduce the base structure.

Q: Are you interested specifically in bases, depots? Can you say where 
he thinks there should be savings? 

A: There's over-capacity in depots as well, so we'll be looking at 
depots as well as bases.