Shrink the number of domestic and foreign bases

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Bases and Infrastructure

Rethink the number of domestic and foreign bases

The United States currently maintains 800 bases in over 70 countries worldwide. The cost of each base includes more than just paying for the base itself -- it also includes the cost of construction, maintenance, personnel, personnel families, housing, schools, and so on. If the Pentagon were to conduct a comprehensive inventory of worldwide installations based on its assessment of threats, it would have the potential to save billions of dollars by identifying installations that are not necessary to 21st Century national security.

SAVINGS

$1 billion+

STATUS

H.R.753 - Military Infrastructure Consolidation and Efficiency Act of 2017

LINKS

The American Conservative: The Hidden Costs of Empire

“If we are going to effectively tackle the long-term national security threat posed by our national debt, then we need to seriously examine how our defense dollars are being spent. Waste and inefficiency within the Pentagon not only contributes to our nation’s debt and deficit, it also diminishes the effectiveness of our nation’s armed forces."

Dan Caldwell, USMC (ret.)
Concerned Veterans for America

“I'm concerned that our increasing fractious political process, particularly with respect to federal spending, is threatening our ability to properly defend our nation both in the short term and especially in the long term."

Dan Coats
Director of National Intelligence

“This guide is a much-needed first step toward encouraging politicians to consider all available options for substantive Pentagon reform. Our troops deserve better than broken bureaucracy, and politicians shouldn't fool themselves into thinking that throwing money at the problem is the solution."

Capt. Dan Grazier, USMC (ret.)
Project on Government Oversight

Solutions

Pursuing Smart Tradeoffs