II

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2051

To establish a task force to assess activities in previous base closure rounds

and to recommend improvements and alternatives to additional base

closure rounds.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 7, 1998

Mr. WARNER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Armed Services

A BILL

To establish a task force to assess activities in previous

base closure rounds and to recommend improvements

and alternatives to additional base closure rounds.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. TASK FORCE ON BASE CLOSURE REFORM.

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a

5 commission to be known as the ‘‘Task Force on Base Clo6 sure Reform’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Task

7 Force’’).

8 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Task Force is to

9 review the base closure process (including the rec-
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1 ommendation and approval of installations for closure and

2 the closure of installations) under the 1990 base closure

3 law in order to recommend improvements, and potential

4 alternatives, to the base closure process under that law.

5 SEC. 2. MEMBERSHIP.

6 (a) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The Task Force shall be

7 composed of 10 members, appointed from among individ8 uals described in paragraph (2) as follows:

9 (A) Three members shall be appointed by the

10 Majority Leader of the Senate.

11 (B) Two members shall be appointed by the Mi12 nority Leader of the Senate.

13 (C) Three members shall be appointed by the

14 Speaker of the House of Representatives.

15 (D) Two members shall be appointed by the Mi16 nority Leader of the House of Representatives.

17 (2) Members of the Task Force shall be appointed

18 from among retired members of the Armed Forces, or

19 other private United States citizens, who have one or more

20 of the following qualifications:

21 (A) Past membership on a commission estab22 lished under the 1990 base closure law or under title

23 II of the Defense Authorization Amendments and

24 Base Closure and Realignment Act (Public Law

25 100–526; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note).
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1 (B) Past service on the staff of a commission

2 referred to in subparagraph (A).

3 (C) Experience with military force structure

4 planning and strategic planning.

5 (D) Financial management experience.

6 (E) Past membership in the legislative branch

7 or service on the staff of the legislative branch.

8 (b) APPOINTMENT.—(1) All members of the Task

9 Force shall be appointed not later than 45 days after the

10 date of enactment of this Act.

11 (2)(A) Members of the Task Force shall be appointed

12 for the life of the Task Force.

13 (B) A vacancy in the membership of the Task Force

14 shall not affect the powers of the Task Force, but shall

15 be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

16 (c) CHAIRMAN.—The members of the Task Force

17 shall choose one of the members to serve as chairman of

18 the Task Force.

19 SEC. 3. DUTIES.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall—

21 (1) carry out a review of the base closure proc22 ess under the 1990 base closure law in accordance

23 with subsection (b);

24 (2) carry out an assessment of the impact of

25 the number of base closure rounds on the base clo-
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1 sure process under that law in accordance with sub2 section (c);

3 (3) carry out a comparative analysis of various

4 means of disposing of excess or surplus property in

5 accordance with subsection (d); and

6 (4) make recommendations in accordance with

7 subsection (e).

8 (b) REVIEW.—In carrying out a review of the base

9 closure process under subsection (a)(1), the Task Force

10 shall—

11 (1) review the activities, after action reports,

12 and recommendations of each commission estab13 lished under the 1990 base closure law in the 1991,

14 1993, and 1995 base closure rounds under that law;

15 (2) review the activities and after action reports

16 of the Department of Defense and the military de17 partments with respect to each such base closure

18 round under that law, which shall include an assess19 ment of the compliance of the military departments

20 with the provisions of that law in each such round;

21 and

22 (3) assess the effectiveness of the provisions of

23 that law in providing guidance to each such commis24 sion, the Department of Defense, and the military
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1 departments with respect to subsequent closures of

2 military installations.

3 (c) ASSESSMENT.—In carrying out an assessment of

4 the impact of the number of base closure rounds on the

5 base closure process under subsection (a)(2), the Task

6 Force shall—

7 (1) review the activities of the Department of

8 Defense and the military departments in preparing

9 for and carrying out the closure of installations ap10 proved for closure in each base closure round under

11 the 1990 base closure law, including—

12 (A) the capacity of the Department of De13 fense and the military departments to process

14 the data required to make recommendations

15 with respect to the closure of installations in

16 each such round; and

17 (B) the effectiveness of the activities un18 dertaken by the Department of Defense and the

19 military departments to dispose of property and

20 equipment at such installations upon approval

21 of closure; and

22 (2) assess the impact of the number of installa23 tions recommended for closure in each such round

24 on—
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1 (A) the accuracy of data provided by the

2 Secretary of Defense to the commission estab3 lished under that law in such round;

4 (B) the capacity of such commission to

5 process such data; and

6 (C) the ability of such commission to con7 sider fully the concerns of the communities like8 ly to be effected by the closure of the installa9 tions recommended for closure.

10 (d) COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS.—In carrying out a

11 comparative analysis under subsection (a)(3), the Task

12 Force shall—

13 (1) compare the law and experience of the

14 United States in disposing of surplus and excess

15 property with the law and experience of similar na16 tions in disposing of such property; and

17 (2) compare the law (including any regulations,

18 policies, and directives) of the United States relating

19 to the closure of military installations with the law

20 of similar nations relating to the closure of such in21 stallations.

22 (e) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In making recommenda23 tions under subsection (a)(4), the Task Force shall—
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1 (1) recommend such modifications to the 1990

2 base closure law as the Task Force considers appro3 priate in light of its activities under this section;

4 (2) compare the merits of requiring one addi5 tional round of base closures under that law with the

6 merits of requiring more than one additional round

7 of base closures under that law; and

8 (3) recommend any alternative methods of

9 eliminating excess capacity in the military installa10 tions inside the United States that the Task Force

11 considers appropriate in light of its activities under

12 this section.

13 SEC. 4. REPORT.

14 (a) REPORT.—Not later than March 15, 1999, the

15 Task Force shall submit to the Committee on Armed Serv16 ices of the Senate and the Committee on National Security

17 of the House of Representatives a report on its activities

18 under this Act.

19 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report shall include the results

20 of the activities of the Task Force under section 3, includ21 ing the recommendations required by subsection (e) of

22 that section.
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1 SEC. 5. TASK FORCE MATTERS.

2 (a) MEETINGS.—(1) The Task Force shall hold its

3 first meeting not later than 30 days after the date on

4 which all members have been appointed.

5 (2) The Task Force shall meet upon the call of the

6 chairman.

7 (3) A majority of the members of the Task Force

8 shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold

9 meetings.

10 (b) AUTHORITY OF INDIVIDUALS TO ACT FOR TASK

11 FORCE.—Any member or agent of the Task Force may,

12 if authorized by the Task Force, take any action which

13 the Task Force is authorized to take under this section.

14 (c) HEARINGS.—The Task Force may hold such

15 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such

16 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Task Force

17 considers advisable to carry out its duties.

18 (d) AVAILABILITY OF GOVERNMENT INFORMA19 TION.—The Task Force may secure directly from the De20 partment of Defense and any other department or agency

21 of the Federal Government such information as the Task

22 Force considers necessary to carry out its duties. Upon

23 the request of the chairman of the Task Force, the head

24 of a department or agency shall furnish the requested in25 formation expeditiously to the Task Force.
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1 (e) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Task Force may use the

2 United States mails in the same manner and under the

3 same conditions as other departments and agencies of the

4 Federal Government.

5 SEC. 6. TASK FORCE PERSONNEL MATTERS.

6 (a) PAY AND EXPENSES OF MEMBERS.—(1) Each

7 member of the Task Force who is not an employee of the

8 Government shall be paid at a rate equal to the daily

9 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for

10 level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of

11 title 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel

12 time) during which such member is engaged in performing

13 the duties of the Task Force.

14 (2) Members and personnel of the Task Force may

15 travel on aircraft, vehicles, or other conveyances of the

16 Armed Forces when travel is necessary in the performance

17 of a duty of the Task Force except when the cost of com18 mercial transportation is less expensive.

19 (3) The members of the Task Force may be allowed

20 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence,

21 at rates authorized for employees of agencies under sub22 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code,

23 while away from their homes or regular places of business

24 in the performance of services for the Task Force.
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1 (4)(A) A member of the Task Force who is an annu2 itant otherwise covered by section 8344 or 8468 of title

3 5, United States Code, shall not by reason of membership

4 on the Task Force be subject to the provisions of such

5 section with respect to such Task Force.

6 (B) A member of the Task Force who is a member

7 or former member of a uniformed service shall not be sub8 ject to the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of section

9 5532 of such title with respect to membership on the Task

10 Force.

11 (b) STAFF AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—(1)

12 The chairman of the Task Force may, without regard to

13 civil service laws and regulations, appoint and terminate

14 an executive director and up to three additional staff mem15 bers as necessary to enable the Task Force to perform

16 its duties. The chairman of the Task Force may fix the

17 compensation of the executive director and other personnel

18 without regard to the provisions of chapter 51, and sub19 chapter III of chapter 53, of title 5, United States Code,

20 relating to classification of positions and General Schedule

21 pay rates, except that the rate of pay may not exceed the

22 maximum rate of pay for grade GS–15 under the General

23 Schedule.

24 (2) Upon the request of the chairman of the Task

25 Force, the head of any department or agency of the Fed-
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1 eral Government may detail, without reimbursement, any

2 personnel of the department or agency to the Task Force

3 to assist in carrying out its duties. A detail of an employee

4 shall be without interruption or loss of civil service status

5 or privilege.

6 SEC. 7. SUPPORT OF TASK FORCE.

7 (a) TEMPORARY SERVICES.—The chairman of the

8 Task Force may procure temporary and intermittent serv9 ices under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code,

10 at rates for individuals that do not exceed the daily equiva11 lent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level

12 IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of such

13 title.

14 (b) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SUPPORT.—The Sec15 retary of Defense shall furnish to the Task Force such

16 administrative and support services as may be requested

17 by the chairman of the Task Force.

18 SEC. 8. TERMINATION.

19 The Task Force shall terminate 30 days after the

20 date on which it submits the report required by section

21 4.

22 SEC. 9. FUNDING.

23 Upon the request of the chairman of the Task Force,

24 the Secretary of Defense shall make available to the Task

25 Force, out of funds appropriated for the Department of
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1 Defense, such amounts as the Task Force may require to

2 carry out its duties.

3 SEC. 10. DEFINITION.

4 In this Act, the term ‘‘1990 base closure law’’ means

5 the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990

6 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101–510; 10 U.S.C.

7 2687 note).

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