Many military construction projects will be spared from additional sequestration cuts in FY2013, DoD Comptroller Bob Hale told the Senate Appropriations Military Construction/Veterans Affairs subcommittee.
Hale said a preliminary assessment of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) review of the final FY2013 Appropriations shows that “many Military Construction accounts will not experience sequestration cuts because of crediting provisions in the current law.” Those accounts that are cut should be able absorb those cuts because of bid savings, he added.
DoD will emphasize completing on-going projects and try to minimize the deferral or cancelation of projects, Hale told the subcommittee. “We do not intend to reduce the scope of any military construction projects,” Hale said.
Nevertheless, Hale stressed that FY2013 construction projects have already been cut it will be difficult to manage at the project level. He said he expected reprogramming actions will be required to execute many projects.
Hale also urged Congress to support DoD’s request for a new Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) round in 2015. The only effective way to consolidate infrastructure is by another BRAC round, he said. However, so far Congress has been very skeptical of the savings estimates that would result from another BRAC.
