White House opposes appropriators' BRAC prohibition

The White House is objecting to House appropriators' attempts to prohibit a new round of base closures.

A statement of administration policy on the House Appropriations Committee's fiscal year 2018 defense spending bill issued Monday states:

The Administration strongly objects to section 8113, which prohibits the use of appropriated funds for proposing, planning, or executing a new BRAC round. The Administration strongly urges the Congress to provide BRAC authorization as requested so that DOD can ensure it is not wasting resources on unneeded infrastructure. The Department estimates that a new BRAC round in 2021 would save an additional $2 billion or more annually -- resources it could apply to higher priorities such as readiness and modernization.

Additionally, the Trump administration opposes House appropriators' "reduction of $308 million to United States Ballistic Missile Defense programs during a period of escalating threats from North Korea to the homeland and allies of the United States" as well as $112.5 million in rescissions to the Counter-ISIL Train and Equip Fund, a $450 million reduction to the Coalition Support Fund and a $170 million cut to the Strategic Capabilities Office.

Read the full statement here.