I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4434 
To require the Secretary of Defense to develop a plan to move United 
States Africa Command (AFRICOM) back to the continental United 
States, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 9, 2014 
Mr. NUNES (for himself, Mr. KEATING, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. 
BOUSTANY, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. COOK, Mr. JONES, Mr. STIVERS, Mrs. 
BLACK, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. SHU-
STER, Mr. COFFMAN, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. 
MARCHANT, Mr. LATHAM, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. KINZINGER of Illi-
nois, Mr. COSTA, Mr. YOUNG of Indiana, Mr. DENHAM, Mr. ROHR-
ABACHER, Mr. COLE, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, 
Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 
THOMPSON of California, Mr. ISSA, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. 
CHAFFETZ, Mr. LAMBORN, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. CAMP, Mr. 
CRAWFORD, Mr. TERRY, and Mr. HOLDING) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Defense to develop a plan to 
move United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) back 
to the continental United States, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Africa Counter Ter-
rorism Initiative Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The proliferation of terrorist groups is 
rampant in unstable countries in West and sub-Sa-
haran Africa. The biggest regional threats include 
al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which has 
known ties to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula 
(AQAP), Boko Haram, and al-Shabab. The oppor-
tunity to expand the strategic reach and force pro-
jection of the United States into the theater of oper-
ations of the United States Africa Command (in this 
Act referred to as ‘‘AFRICOM’’) is now. With the 
United States strategic pivot to the Pacific now un-
derway, the need to ensure retention of a strong At-
lantic presence is a vital and delicate aspect of stra-
tegic re-positioning. 
(2) The United States Central Command oper-
ates from its headquarters in Tampa, Florida, with 
a forward operating location in Qatar. The United 
States Southern Command operates from its head-
quarters in Miami, Florida, with forward operating 
locations in Honduras and El Salvador. It is not un-
usual for United States military units and their 
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combatant command headquarters to operate in dif-
ferent time zones. 
(3) Analyses conducted by the Government Ac-
countability Office found that the annual recurring 
cost of maintaining a United States-based head-
quarters for AFRICOM would be $60 million to $70 
million less than the cost of operating the 
AFRICOM headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. 
The annual cost of providing AFRICOM personnel 
with overseas housing and cost-of-living pay was $81 
million per year, compared with the $19 million to 
$25 million these would cost if the personnel were 
located in the United States. The break-even point 
to recover one-time relocation costs to the United 
States would be reached between 2 and 6 years after 
relocation, depending on the costs to establish facili-
ties in the United States. Relocating AFRICOM to 
the continental United States could create up to 
4,300 additional jobs, with an annual impact on the 
local economy ranging from $350 million to $450 
million. 
(4) After an internal cost assessment, the De-
partment of Defense decided to keep AFRICOM 
headquarters in Stuttgart, without fully explaining 
why the operational benefits of keeping the head-
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quarters in Germany outweigh the benefit of poten-
tially saving millions of dollars per year and creating 
thousands of jobs in the United States. 
(5) A review by the Government Accountability 
Office in 2013 of the Department’s decision to keep 
AFRICOM headquarters in Germany found that the 
decision was not supported by comprehensive and 
well-documented analysis that balanced the oper-
ational and cost benefits of the options available to 
the Department. 
(6) In April 2013, after the decision had been 
made to maintain AFRICOM headquarters in Ger-
many, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel called on 
the Department to challenge all past assumptions in 
order to seek cost savings and efficiencies in ‘‘a time 
of unprecedented shifts in the world order, new glob-
al challenges, and deep global fiscal uncertainty’’, to 
explore the full range of options for implementing 
United States national security strategy, and to ‘‘put 
everything on the table’’. The Secretary stated that 
the size and shape of the military forces should con-
stantly be reassessed. He stated that this reassess-
ment should include determining the most appro-
priate balance between forward-stationed, rotational-
ly deployed, and home-based forces. 
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(7) It is within the strategic and fiscal responsi-
bility of Congress to fully analyze and provide for 
the implementation of any consolidation of military 
installations. There are more than 110,000 troops 
and civilians stationed and employed at 29 military 
installations in Europe. Priority should be given to 
consolidating bases that are in close proximity to 
each other and that can achieve cost savings without 
detriment to operational readiness, such as Royal 
Air Force Station Mildenhall and Royal Air Force 
Station Lakenheath, as well as Moron Air Base, 
Spain, and Naval Station Rota, Spain. 
(8) Of particular concern is the decision to de-
ploy assets to Moron Air Base, where the readiness 
and effectiveness of deployed troops is hindered by 
the lack of infrastructure to house, train, and equip 
them. Specifically, Moron lacks the facilities to prop-
erly perform ground and naval training operations, 
and only has limited ability to accomplish air train-
ing operations. By contrast, Lajes Field has imple-
mented more than $150 million of major infrastruc-
ture upgrades over the past 12 years to improve the 
quality of life, upgrade communication capabilities, 
bolster security, and enhance military operations. 
With a nearby port, sprawling fields, and unre-
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stricted airspace, Lajes Field has the unique ability 
to host extensive air, ground, and naval training op-
erations. Lajes’ strategic location, infrastructure im-
provements, unrestricted air space, and outstanding 
training environment for all forces make this an in-
dispensable asset and an ideal forward operating 
base for AFRICOM, as opposed to spending hun-
dreds of millions of dollars to upgrade aging sites 
such as Moron Air Base, Spain. 
(9) It is in the national interest of the United 
States to save millions of dollars per year and bring 
thousands of jobs to the United States by moving 
AFRICOM headquarters from Stuttgart, Germany, 
to the continental United States. 
SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT FOR PLAN TO MOVE AFRICOM 
HEADQUARTERS TO CONTINENTAL UNITED 
STATES. 
(a) PLAN REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Defense 
shall develop a plan in accordance with subsection (b) to 
transfer the headquarters of AFRICOM from Stuttgart, 
Germany, to a location in the continental United States. 
(b) MATTERS COVERED.— 
(1) ASSETS OF AFRICOM.—The plan required 
under this section shall provide for— 
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(A) the 65th Air Base Wing to be an 
AFRICOM asset; 
(B) AFRICOM permanent assets (includ-
ing assets related to air, ground, special oper-
ations, and logistics) to be located at Lajes 
Field, Azores, Portugal; and 
(C) the transfer of United States assets at 
Lajes Field from United States European Com-
mand to AFRICOM, for purposes of being the 
forward operating location, logistical hub, and 
location of assets of AFRICOM. 
(2) RELOCATIONS TO LAJES FIELD.—The plan 
required under this section shall also provide for the 
relocation of the Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground 
Task Force Crisis Response (SP–MAGTF CR) from 
Moron Air Base, Spain, to Lajes Field. 
(c) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The plan required 
under this section shall be submitted to Congress not later 
than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(d) IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN.—The Secretary of 
Defense shall implement the plan required by this section 
within 6 months after submission of the plan to Congress 
under subsection (c), and in no event later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
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SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT FOR REVIEW OF AGREEMENT ON 
COOPERATION AND DEFENSE BETWEEN THE 
UNITED STATES AND PORTUGAL. 
The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a review of 
the Agreement on Cooperation and Defense Between the 
United States and Portugal, signed at Lisbon June 1, 
1995, to ensure that such Agreement accurately reflects 
and accounts for the plan required under section 3. 
SEC. 5. CONTINUED OPERATION OF LAJES FIELD. 
Effective until at least the date of completion of the 
2018 quadrennial defense review, Lajes Field shall con-
tinue operating 24 hours a day, at or above its 2012 levels 
of readiness. 
Æ 
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