M E M O R A N D U M
TO: Reporters and Editors
RE: GAO report confirms concerns with BRAC-Rock Island Arsenal
DA: March 5, 2008
Senator Chuck Grassley today released the following statement after receiving a Government Accountability Office report that confirmed his concerns that the costs of the TACOM-Rock Island Arsenal move were drastically underestimated.
Specifically, the report said that one time costs to implement the entire Depot Level Reparables recommendation increased 194 percent from the original BRAC estimate to the current estimates based on the Army’s business plan. The move of TACOM from the Rock Island Arsenal to the Detroit Arsenal accounts for almost half of the one-time costs for implementing the overall BRAC Depot Level Reparables recommendation. Also, the one-time costs of the TACOM move alone are currently estimated at $183.9 million and the recurring costs are $10.8 million over the implementation period. The recurring costs are expected to continue indefinitely.
A copy of the GAO report can be found on the GAO’s website: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08315.pdf.
Here is Grassley’s comment.
“The report has given us a clearer picture of the true costs associated with moving TACOM Rock Island to Detroit. Now, the Government Accountability Office confirms what we’ve been saying all along, that this move will cost far more than the BRAC estimates suggested and there are no savings whatsoever. While this doesn’t make it any easier to accept the BRAC requirements, I hope we’ll take this information and work to ensure that future BRAC rounds don’t have the same mistakes. I also hope the Army has learned a lesson and will work with us to minimize the damage of this costly mistake.”