Defense Communities 360 Headlines

The Air Force would be forced to postpone the start of 22 new military construction projects if automatic defense cuts are imposed beginning March 1, according to an Air Force presentation to Congress. Sequestration would affect smaller projects as well, requiring the service to defer work on more than 420 non-emergency facilities sustainment and restoration/modernization projects at more than 140 installations …

Senate Democrats are trying to complete work by the end of next week on a bill to reverse $85 billion in government-wide spending reductions slated to be imposed March 1. Their goal is to bring the measure, an undetermined mix of alternate spending cuts and new tax revenue, to the Senate floor the week of Feb. 25, just before the sequester goes into effect …

Lawmakers in eastern North Carolina are considering an ordinance regulating structures higher than 350 feet as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the flying mission at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. The ordinance would require structures such as wind turbines, cell towers and buildings to obtain a permit from Craven County. The move comes as neighboring Pamlico County is addressing concerns of the Marine Corps about a proposed wind farm …

The House Appropriations Committee has begun drafting a continuing resolution to fund the government after March 27, a strong indication that Congress will not be moving any of the 12 individual spending bills for fiscal 2013. Congressional leaders most likely will fund the remainder of the fiscal year through another six-month stopgap measure, but no decision has been made yet …

In a reprise of legislation introduced in the House and Senate last year, Republican lawmakers Wednesday proposed replacing $85 billion in government-wide spending cuts slated to go into effect March 1 with savings from trimming the federal workforce. The legislation, sponsored by House Armed Services Chairman Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.) and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R), would pay for the first year of the sequester by reducing the size of the federal workforce by 10 percent through attrition over the next 10 years and imposing a pay freeze for members of Congress …

Operating under a continuing resolution through Sept. 30 and coping with across-the-board spending reductions slated to go into effect March 1 would “distress and shock” Army installations and their host communities, according to an Army memo outlining the impacts of addressing an $18 billion shortfall in its operation and maintenance account over the remainder of fiscal 2013. The economic impact to communities would be directly caused by terminations of temporary and term employees, wide-scale reduction of support contracts with more than 3,000 industry partners, and furloughs of all 251,000 Army civilian employees for up to 22 days, according to the memo …

For the second year in a row the Pentagon will ask Congress for a new round of base closures, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters Wednesday during a preview of the department’s fiscal 2014 budget request. The announcement came as no surprise after Congress roundly rejected the administration’s proposal last year to hold BRAC rounds in 2013 and 2015. “We will have to because … you can’t have a huge infrastructure supporting a reduced force …

The Defense Department recently completed a multi-million dollar headquarters for the Army Reserve at Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos in Southern California, but at least one local official wants the city to have a backup plan in case the installation is closed. “I would like to see the formation of a base closure committee,” Los Alamitos Councilman Richard Murphy said last week. “It’s amazing to me that we don’t have one.” Even if there is only a small chance that the base is shuttered, said Murphy, prudent planning should prompt the city to be ready. “If you follow the budget cuts in the military, I think there’s going to be more and more serious budget cuts under this administration,” he said. “We need to go through the exercise of preparing for that.”

The county of Accomack, Va., has issued a request for proposals to solicit consulting services to prepare and complete a joint land use study for the county and Navy Surface Combat Systems Center Wallops Island, Va., pursuant to the scope of work in the RFP. Accomack County and SCSC desire that the JLUS work products and deliverables listed in the scope of work be completed by March 31, 2014. A non-mandatory, pre-solicitation conference will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 13 …

The Air Force recorded numerous milestones last year on the way to reaching its goals for conserving energy, increasing its reliance on renewable sources and building sustainable facilities, according to highlights of DOD’s 2012 Annual Energy Management Report. One of the Air Force’s major accomplishments last year was developing a new acquisition process for renewable energy after it formed the Air Force Civil Engineer Center by merging the Air Force Real Property Agency, the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency and the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment …