§2687a Overseas Base Closures and Realignments and Status of United States Overseas Military Locations

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must send Congress a yearly report at the same time the federal budget is sent. The report must explain what the Department of Defense is doing about closing or changing overseas bases and list all U.S. military locations abroad (enduring and contingency). For new locations, the report must say why they were set up. For each location it must say what strategic goal and mission it supports. It must list construction or facility projects done in the past year (if those projects were not already specially authorized or previously notified), with where they are, what they are, how much they cost (including host‑country contributions), and the legal authority used. For locations newly called “enduring” in the last two reports, it must list expected projects for the current year and the next four years with estimated costs and authority. The report must also show lease or access costs for enduring locations, any plans to change a location’s status, locations that were closed or turned over to the host country (with closure costs), and a summary of force‑protection risks and how they will be fixed. The Secretary must prepare the report with the Under Secretary for Policy and the Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment. The report must be unclassified, but may include a classified annex. Money paid to the United States for the leftover value of overseas property or improvements must go into the Department of Defense Overseas Military Facility Investment Recovery Account. That money can be used, as Congress allows, for military construction, maintenance, and environmental cleanup inside the U.S., and for similar work at overseas sites where the U.S. expects to stay. The funds remain available until spent. The Secretary must tell the congressional defense committees about all spending from that account by December 1 each year. If part of a payment equals the depreciated value of investments paid for with nonappropriated funds, that portion goes to a special reserve account under Public Law 100–526 and may be used, as Congress provides, for commissaries and similar nonappropriated fund activities. Before the Secretary agrees to give improvements back to a host country when those improvements are worth more than $10,000,000, the proposed settlement must be sent to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Secretary must wait 30 days. The Director will check that the settlement is fair, looking at U.S. investment, depreciation, condition, and cleanup needs. Each year the Secretary must also report to the Armed Services Committees on proposed settlements that were not sent to OMB because they were $10,000,000 or less. Before accepting construction or host‑country support as a payment‑in‑kind, the Secretary must notify the congressional defense committees and then wait 30 days (or 14 days if an electronic copy is provided under section 480) before finalizing the deal. Military construction projects costing more than $6,000,000 generally may be accepted as payment‑in‑kind only if they are authorized by law, with limited exceptions for agreements tied to actions before December 26, 2013. If a payment‑in‑kind covers work for which the Department already spent or obligated funds, the Secretary must return an equal amount to the Treasury. Enduring and contingency locations, and what counts as a construction or facility project (including land), are defined for these rules.