Sequestration is holding up 11 DOD Education Activity replacement and renovation projects in the fiscal 2013 budget, according to DODEA. Only one of the projects is in the United States, with the remaining ones spread across Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and South Korea. The U.S. project is at Fort Campbell, Ky.
Lawmakers representing Texas districts with military installations have indicated they are opposed to holding a BRAC round in 2015, but one community in the state says it supports a new round, mostly because it’s easier to prepare for a transparent base closure process than a “free-for-all.” “We are generally supportive of a future BRAC,” Phil Neighbors, president of the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce, told the Times Record News. “The DOD has to take serious action to save money, and we’d rather have an organized BRAC process than a political free-for-all …
Mississippi communities have continued to invest in projects to benefit their local installations following the last round of base closures. After education was identified as a major concern during the 2005 round, the Golden Triangle communities neighboring Columbus Air Force Base have worked on several initiatives. To improve public schools, they built a new middle school and encouraged military children to attend the schools of a highly rated school district in the area …
The House plans to start taking up fiscal 2014 appropriations bills in June, with the defense spending measure possibly reaching the floor by the middle of the month. House Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) is expected to get the process started shortly by allocating the $967 billion available for discretionary spending next year among the 12 spending bills, reported CQ. As long as the House and Senate fail to come to agreement over a FY 2014 budget resolution, though, the Democrat-controlled Senate will be crafting spending bills based on a pre-sequester figure of $1.058 trillion …
Ten years after the Navy departed Vieques, the small Puerto Rican island still has not realized its hope of improving its economic fortunes. One key challenge, clearing the island’s bombing range of munitions, is expected to require at least 12 more years with a total expected cost of $350 million, reports Stars and Stripes. “The Navy considers Vieques to be its highest priority in the munitions cleanup program,” said the Navy’s Dan Waddill. “Vieques gets by far the most effort and the highest amount of funding …
The Navy signed an agreement last week with NASA allowing turboprop aircraft based in Norfolk, Va., to use the Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore to practice carrier landings. Under the agreement, the Navy will pay NASA $1.9 million a year for repairs and upgrades to the airfield, as well as reimburse the agency for support services it uses, reported the Virginian-Pilot. The Navy’s selection in January of the Wallops facility as an alternate landing site provides a host of benefits to the federal government and the Norfolk region …
Next month’s Defense Communities National Summit is shaping up to be one of ADC’s best conferences ever, with a number of exciting events taking advantage of our location close to the Pentagon and Capitol Hill. A large part of what will make that possible is the strong support we have received from our private sector partners. To date, nine companies have agreed to sponsor a variety of activities at the Summit. Four are new sponsors with ADC: Yardi Systems, EDF Renewable Energy, Marstel-Day and the Defense Credit Union Council …
North Alabama schools will be the beneficiary of $175 million in state bond funds dedicated to school districts affected by BRAC mission growth, after Madison County lawmakers voted last week to allocate $5 million to the county school system to use as matching funds. The Alabama Legislature passed a measure last year to provide bond funds for construction and renovation of aging schools whose enrollments would be expanding due to BRAC growth, but no money had been allocated, reported the Huntsville Times. About 4,700 jobs moved to Redstone Arsenal following the last round of BRAC …
The Army announced the first awards Friday under its $7 billion procurement to obtain renewable energy through private sector financing, awarding contracts to five firms for potential geothermal energy projects. The contracts — which provide a three-year base with seven one-year options — allow the firms to compete for power purchase agreements lasting up to 30 years at DOD installations. Individual awards under the multiple-award, task order contract are being staggered by technology. Awards for the remaining technologies, solar, wind and biomass, are anticipated to be made through the end of 2013 …
The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee have asked the Pentagon to detail how it would carry out the $52 billion in sequester cuts slated to be imposed next year. The fiscal 2014 budget delivered last month by DOD assumes that the automatic spending cuts will not go into effect. To date, however, there has been no progress on a bipartisan deficit reduction agreement required to avert sequestration …