RL34055
Walter Reed Army Medical Center: Realignment Under BRAC 2005 and Options for Congress
July 09, 2007

Download Locations:

WikiLeaks

Summary:

The 2005 Defense Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission recommended that the Department of Defense (DOD) establish a new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) on the site of the current National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, Maryland. The President approved the recommendation in September 2005, and the Secretary of Defense is required by statute to implement it within six years of the date of that approval. Part of that recommendation is the realignment of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), which entails the transfer of many functions from organizations currently located on its Georgia Avenue main post in the District of Columbia and Forest Glen annex in suburban Maryland to other defense installations. The main post is scheduled to be closed. The Department of State and General Services Administration have requested that title to portions of the main post property be transferred to them. This report details the BRAC Commission recommendation to create the WRNMMC, and the concomitant realignment of the WRAMC. It describes the concerns raised by the community before the BRAC Commission regarding the closure of the WRAMC main post and explains each of the 13 parts of the overall recommendation. The report details the principal organizations currently resident at WRAMC and indicates the fate of each. It describes the timing of the necessary construction and moves, as currently planned by DOD. It also includes a discussion of BRAC-related recommendations made by an Independent Review Group in their April 2007 report to the Secretary of Defense on patient care at WRAMC. Appendix 3 includes legislative language regarding the creation of the WRAMC that has been proposed during the 110th Congress. Significantly, the proposed National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (H.R. 1585) includes a provision (Sec. 712) that would establish a floor for funding for WRAMC operations at the FY2006 level until new facilities are ?completed, equipped, and staffed.? Also, the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act (S. 1606) would require the Secretary of Defense to assess the feasibility of accelerating the construction of new facilities needed before closing WRAMC (the planned realignment actually closes only the main post, not the entire installation). If such acceleration is deemed feasible, he would then plan and execute that construction. Both bills are on the Senate?s Legislative Calendar. Other proposed bills that could affect the operation of WRAMC include H.R. 1417 (to prohibit the closure of Walter Reed Army Medical Center notwithstanding the 2005 recommendations of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission), H.R. 2206 (U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans? Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007, enacted as P.L. 110-28 on May 25, 2007), and S. 1044 (Effective Care for the Armed Forces and Veterans Act of 2007). This report will be updated as necessary.