Congressional Research Service

Military Construction Congressional Research Service

Military installations often provide the most tangible evidence of the economic impact of the Department of Defense (DOD) on local communities. and demonstrate American commitment to foreign countries. Congress provides DOD with a military construction appropriation of several billion dollars annually and authorizes the Secretary of Defense and the military departments of the Army, Air Force, and Navy to plan, program, design, and build the runways, piers, warehouses, barracks, schools, hospitals, child development centers, and other facilities needed to support U. S. military forces at home and overseas. This military base footprint, from the largest base to the smallest reserve center, reflects both a federal investment in local communities and a local investment in national defense. This report outlines the end-to-end military construction process by which DOD and Congress act together to build that footprint, beginning with the realization of the need for a facility and ending with its dedication and the opening of its doors for occupancy. The process encompasses several steps: determination of need by the local installation commander and engineering office, vetting and prioritization of construction projects within the military chain of command and the military department, consolidation and budgeting within the Office of the Secretary of Defense to create the infrastructure construction portion of the multi-year Future Years Defense Program (FYDP), inclusion of the final budget year list of projects in the President's annual budget request to Congress, review and adjustment of the list by the congressional defense committees, consideration and passage of the necessary appropriation and authorization bills and their enactment by the President, and execution of the approved construction program by the military services' executive agents - Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), Army Corps of Engineers (ACE).