Report: Virginia should embrace BRAC

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/03/report-virginia-should-embrace-brac

Report: Virginia should embrace BRAC
By Mike Hixenbaugh
The Virginian-Pilot
© March 5, 2014

A state commission formed a year ago by then-Gov. Bob McDonnell quietly made a surprising recommendation in the fall: Virginia leaders should embrace and even lobby Congress to move forward with a new round of military base closures, a process known commonly as BRAC.

The counterintuitive idea - part of a comprehensive strategy for blunting the impact of expected defense cuts - has not earned favor with Gov. Terry McAuliffe or members of the state's congressional delegation, who roundly rejected the idea.

"That's not a path that the governor has any plans to pursue," said Brian Coy, a McAuliffe spokesman. "He is not of the mind that we should be asking Washington for another round of BRAC. The governor wants to move forward as though we will be receiving one, and he plans to make every effort to make sure the state is ready if that happens."

The report by the 10-member Commission on Military Installations and Defense Activities was finalized in October under McDonnell and made public this week by the McAuliffe administration. Led by retired Adm. John Harvey, the commission - which included four Cabinet secretaries - came up with 20 recommendations aimed at strengthening the state's relationship with the military.