Number: RL33148
Title: U.S. Military Overseas Basing: New Developments and Oversight Issues for Congress
Authors: Robert D. Critchlow, Foreign Affairs, Defense,  and Trade Division 
Abstract: On August 16, 2004, President Bush unveiled one of the most sweeping changes to the numbers and locations of military overseas basing facilities since the beginning of the Cold War. Announcing a plan that had been under study for approximately three years, the Department of Defense would move thousands of personnel from installations in Europe and Asia to bases within the United States. Simultaneously, the military would shift its approach away from huge bases such as Ramstein Air Force Base, which has all of the comforts of the U.S. - family housing, supermarkets, convenience stores, theaters, and so forth, to reliance on more austere facilities in Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East that would be less elaborate and lack most of these benefits. In 2004, the Congress chartered the Commission on the Review of Overseas Military Facility Structure of the United States (also known as the Overseas Basing Commission) to provide an independent assessment of the DOD overseas basing needs.1 The DOD plan could prompt budget and oversight decisions for the second session of the 109th Congress. These might include approval, modification, or rejection of the DOD proposal. Congress could also have to consider appropriations requests for construction of infrastructure at new overseas or expanded continental United States (CONUS) locations, as well as fund increased impact aid to local communities. Congress would have to oversee new acquisition programs for mobility and logistics capabilities (such as airlift) needed for the strategy. Congress may also consider whether the plan will be executable given the results of the 2005 round of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. Finally, the Senate may consider new or revised treaties with new basing partners submitted for its advice and consent.
Pages: 17
Date: January 26, 2006