History

In the late 1980s, Members of Congress concluded that the only way to overcome the opposition of its members to closing of individual bases was to entrust the process to an independent Commission. The first Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission was created by statute in 1988 to develop and recommend an entire slate of closings. Once made, that slate could not be modified by the President or the Congress: they could either approve the entire slate or disapprove of the entire slate. The 1988 BRAC Commission recommended the closure of 16 major facilities.

Responding to the effectiveness of the first BRAC Commission, Congress enacted the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-510). The Act specified the continued use of an independent Commission, but changed the role of the newly established BRAC Commission. The 1988 Commission developed recommendations for closure and realignment. In contrast, the 1990 law gave DoD the responsibility of developing recommendations to ensure that they were consistent with the published force structure plan and selection criteria. The Act authorized additional rounds of base closure and realignment in 1991, 1993, and 1995.

In accordance with the 1990 Act, DoD developed base closure and realignment recommendations based on two public documents:

• A long-term force structure plan, which DoD uses as the basis for determining installation requirements
• Selection criteria, which guide the evaluation of bases in categories where excess capacity exists

The selection criteria used in the 1991, 1993, and 1995 BRAC rounds gave priority consideration to military value, but also took into account costs and savings, as well as economic and environmental impacts. Key participants certified that the data they provided were accurate and complete to the best of their knowledge. The Military Services' audit agencies and the DoD Inspector General audited the data used in the process. The General Accounting Office monitored DoD's internal process.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense reviewed the BRAC recommendations of the Service Secretaries before the Secretary of Defense forwarded his recommendations to the Commission. This final review took into account factors, such as impacts on other federal agencies, U.S. treat obligations, or the combined economic effects of actions by more than one Service, that the Military Services may not have considered.

The Commissions for BRACs 1991, 1993, and 1995 were composed of eight individuals nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Six of the eight commissioners were nominated in consultation with the congressional leadership from both major parties.

The Commissions' responsibility was to review the Department's recommendations using the same force structure plan and selection criteria that were the basis for the Secretary of Defense's recommendations. Where the Commissions found that the Department had substantially deviated from either of these two foundations, it had the authority to alter the recommendation. However, it was required to justify such actions on the same basis as did the Department.