1
National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2002, Act of December 28, 2001, P.L. 107-
107, 115 Stat 1012 (current version at 10 U.S.C. § 2687 note). For ease of reference, all citations
to the 1990 Act are to the relevant sections of the act as it appears in the note following 10 U.S.C.
§ 2687.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Order Code RS22066
February 23, 2005
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC):
Property Transfer and Disposal
Aaron M. Flynn
Legislative Attorney
American Law Division
Summary
The Defense Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1990 and the Federal Property
and Administrative Services Act of 1949 provide the basic framework for the transfer
and disposal of military installations closed during the base realignment and closure
(BRAC) process. This report provides an overview of the various authorities available
under the current law and describes the planning process for the redevelopment of
BRAC properties. This report will be updated as events warrant.
Introduction
The nation’s military installations have gone through several rounds of base
realignments and closures (BRAC), the process by which excess military facilities are
identified and, as necessary, transferred to other federal agencies or disposed of, placing
ownership in non-federal entities. Since the enactment of the Defense Base Closure and
Realignment Act of 1990, transfer or disposal of former military installations has been
governed by relatively consistent legal requirements. On December 28, 2001, the most
recent changes to the BRAC framework were signed into law (P.L. 107-107)
1
, providing
for a new round of base closures in 2005.
The current BRAC law is generally similar to the original statute and retains many
of the transfer and disposal authorities that were available in previous rounds. However,
significant amendments in 1999 and 2001 altered portions of the law’s disposal
authorities. This report will provide an overview of the transfer and disposal authorities
available under the law for military installations that may be closed during the 2005 round
