§2687a Overseas base closures and realignments and status of United States overseas military locations

Summary

Requires the Secretary of Defense to send, at the same time the President’s budget is sent under 31 U.S.C. 1105(a), a report to the congressional defense committees and to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The report must cover overseas base closures and realignments under the global posture plan and give the status of all overseas military locations (whether called enduring or contingency). The report must list locations and why new ones were opened, explain each location’s strategic purpose, list construction or facility projects done and their costs, show expected projects for newly designated enduring locations for the current year and next four years, give annual lease or access costs for enduring locations, describe plans to change a location’s status, list locations closed or transferred and related costs, summarize force-protection risks and planned fixes, and include other related matters the Secretary finds appropriate. The report must be coordinated with the Under Secretary for Policy and the Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment, be unclassified with a classified annex if needed, and be submitted every year. Money received from host countries for property must go into the Department of Defense Overseas Military Facility Investment Recovery Account, used for authorized construction, maintenance, repair, and environmental work in the United States and at overseas sites where an enduring presence is expected; the Secretary must report expenditures from that account by December 1 each year. Definitions (one line each): “Overseas military location” = any enduring or contingency site outside the United States. “Enduring location” = a site with a sustained or regular U.S. force presence and supporting infrastructure (includes main operating bases, forward operating sites, cooperative security locations). “Contingency location” = a temporary or mission-driven site used during contingency or other operations. “Construction or facility improvement project” = building, developing, converting, extending, or buying land for facilities (not routine repairs unless the repair is needed to make the facility usable). “Fair market value of the improvements,” “improvements,” “nonappropriated funds,” and “nonappropriated fund instrumentality” are defined in similar simple finance and facility terms in the law. Other rules: the Secretary must wait 30 days after sending a proposed settlement of improvements worth more than $10,000,000 to the Director of OMB before finalizing it; notifications for payment-in-kind agreements normally require a 30-day wait (or 14 days if an electronic copy is sent under section 480). Military construction projects costing more than $6,000,000 may only be accepted as payment-in-kind if authorized by law, with limited exceptions for certain agreements in place before December 26, 2013 or under negotiation as of the enactment of the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015.