House Holds Hearing on Civilian BRAC Proposals

On May 12, the Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing on several proposals to employ a BRAC-like process to civilian properties, reduce the federal footprint and ostensibly save taxpayers billions of dollars in annual operating costs of such facilities. The hearing, chaired by Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), included testimony from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of State and the private sector. This legislative hearing marked the next step in advancing Chairman Denham’s Civilian Property Realignment Act. At a Subcommittee hearing held February 10, 2011, Denham proposed exploring the use of a civilian BRAC process to address management issues as it relates to federal real property. President Obama’s budget then proposed a civilian BRAC process, and on May 4, 2011, both the administration and Denham released bills entitled the Civilian Property Realignment Act. The Denham bill is H.R. 1734. AGC is closely monitoring and working with Congressional leaders and administration officials to ensure that there will be ample opportunity for AGC members have a voice in this process. For more information, contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.