Report calls for more BRAC information and aid
Traffic congestion, inadequate schools and a shortage of affordable housing are among the top concerns mentioned by GAO.
Communities need more information and aid to deal with military base realignment, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.
The Pentagon and other agencies have provided some funding and other aid, but the issue has not received the "high-level leadership" needed, according to GAO, the Associated Press reported.
For example, Maryland's Aberdeen Proving Ground, Fort Meade and the Bethesda National Naval Medical Center are among 20 bases nationwide that the Defense Department expects will be seriously affected by realignment.
Traffic congestion, inadequate schools and a shortage of affordable housing are among the top concerns mentioned in the report.
Maryland officials have been pressing the Pentagon for more federal funding to pay for transit and highway improvements to deal with expected congestion around bases slated for growth.
Montgomery County, home to the National Naval Medical Center, has requested $21 million under a defense program that has traditionally been used for road improvements around rural bases. The county is seeking $20 million to build a Metro subway station entrance closer to the hospital, and $1 million to upgrade intersections.
"We're proud that we're going to be home to world's greatest military medical center," said Phil Alperson, Montgomery's Base Realignment and Closure coordinator. "But we hadn't planned for it and don't have resources to address it."