Pentagon lowers estimate of excess base capacity

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday that the Pentagon's long-standing estimate that up to 25 percent of the nation's military base infrastructure consists of excess capacity is too high.

Rumsfeld said at a news conference that while the Clinton administration had estimated excess base capacity at 20 to 25 percent, "it looks now like the actual number will be less than the lower end of that range. How much less remains to be seen."

The reason, Pentagon officials indicated, is that an ongoing effort to close military facilities overseas will necessitate moving tens of thousands of troops back to U.S. bases.

Some lawmakers previously have questioned the wisdom of shutting U.S. installations until the Pentagon determines what to do with the influx of troops returning from overseas.

When the Defense Department issued its base-closing criteria last year, Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, chairwoman of the Senate Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee, praised the department's plan to weigh overseas bases in drawing up the hit list it will submit to the independent Base Realignment and Closure commission in May.

"The Pentagon has acknowledged the necessity of considering homeland security and overseas base factors in the deliberations on the value of military bases," said Hutchison.

Following a meeting with Rumsfeld last month, Hutchison and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said that the return of at least 70,000 troops from garrisons overseas would lessen the adverse impact of the 2005 BRAC.

Rumsfeld has repeatedly trumpeted the 20-25 percent figure when discussing BRAC. Pentagon officials have said that this year's round could affect more bases than all previous rounds combined. More bases would be in play this year, they have said, because Pentagon officials want the services to merge common operations and consider privatizing government work.

Amy Klamper and George Cahlink contributed to this report.