Washington, D.C. – Today, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA), House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense Ranking Member Pete Visclosky (D-IN), Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA), Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU), Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), and Rep. Denny Heck (D-WA) introduced the Military Infrastructure Consolidation and Efficiency Act, a bill to provide the Department of Defense (DOD) with flexibility to consolidate, close, and realign excess military infrastructure so taxpayer resources can be rechanneled to more effectively contribute to the national defense:

“It’s not appropriate for us to keep wasting taxpayer money maintaining excess infrastructure that the Department of Defense says it does not need,” said Smith. “I have long argued that Congress must find the courage to authorize another Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round, and I look forward to discussing ways to move this process forward with my House and Senate colleagues.”

“It is past the time that Congress stops prohibiting the Department of Defense from considering ways to improve the efficiency and operations of their military base infrastructure,” Visclosky said. “The sooner Congress works in partnership with the Department to make the difficult decisions that are essential to deal with the reality of finite resources, the better we can provide for our national security.”

The text of the bill can be found here and a summary of its contents can be found here.

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