Sen. Cruz: Domestic Bases Should Be Priority
Passes Bipartisan Amendment Requiring Spending Scrutiny of Overseas Bases Before Any Domestic Bases May Be Considered For Closure
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) amendment to ensure that domestic military installations are prioritized over foreign installations during any future Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process passed the Senate Armed Services Committee’s markup last week of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The measure was co-sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and passed by voice vote with bipartisan support.
“It is essential that we ensure our nation’s spending on military bases is prioritized appropriately,” Sen. Cruz said. “We need to decrease our overseas footprint. With multiple reports in the last year finding rising costs and a questionable use of taxpayer spending on overseas military bases, we should scrutinize that spending before considering any actions that will impact our domestic installations, many of which have undergone significant updates and improvements in recent years. This is important not only to the hundreds of thousands of troops serving on Texas bases, but also to service men and women across the nation.”
Texas is home to 14 major military bases and dozens more National Guard and Reserve bases, employing hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines in the active duty, reserves, and National Guard. Sen. Cruz is committed to ensuring that decisions regarding military bases minimize the impact on members of the military serving in Texas and here in the United States.
According to the Senate Armed Services Committee’s oversight findings, American taxpayers spend $10 billion per year on overseas bases. The committee agreed with Sen. Cruz’s position that no potential future BRAC round for military installations within the U.S. should even be contemplated until the completion of a formal review of overseas bases.
Under the Cruz Amendment that was adopted, any future domestic BRAC will be barred by law – prohibited by statute – until at the very earliest, the Department of Defense has fully completed an updated formal review of all overseas military bases.
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