,i #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ddcd ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #i1 #bjad ,mr4 ,nunes 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,keating1 ,mr4 ,lo,biondo1 ,mr4 ,gerlach1 ,mr4 ,boustany1 ,mr4 ,calvert1 ,mr4 ,cook1 ,mr4 ,jones1 ,mr4 ,stivers1 ,mrs4 ,black1 ,mr4 ,wilson of ,south ,carolina1 ,mr4 ,brady of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,shuster1 ,mr4 ,coffman1 ,mr4 ,diaz-,balart1 ,mr4 ,tiberi1 ,mr4 ,valadao1 ,mr4 ,marchant1 ,mr4 ,latham1 ,ms4 ,ros-,lehtinen1 ,mr4 ,kinzinger of ,illinois1 ,mr4 ,costa1 ,mr4 ,young of ,indiana1 ,mr4 ,denham1 ,mr4 ,rohrabacher1 ,mr4 ,cole1 ,mr4 ,la,malfa1 ,mr4 ,duncan of ,south ,carolina1 ,mr4 ,sessions1 ,mr4 ,westmoreland1 ,mr4 ,rodney ,davis of ,illinois1 ,mr4 ,thompson of ,california1 ,mr4 ,issa1 ,mr4 ,franks of ,arizona1 ,mr4 ,chaffetz1 ,mr4 ,lamborn1 ,ms4 ,sewell of ,alabama1 ,mr4 ,camp1 ,mr4 ,crawford1 ,mr4 ,terry1 and ,mr4 ,holding7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,armed ,services ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of ,defense to develop a plan to move ,united ,states ,africa ,command 7,,africom7 back to the continental ,united ,states1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,africa ,counter ,terrorism ,initiative ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the proliferation of terrorist groups is rampant in unstable countries in ,west and sub-,saharan ,africa4 ,the biggest regional threats include al-,qaeda in the ,islamic ,maghreb 7,,aqim71 which has known ties to al-,qaeda in the ,arabian ,peninsula 7,,aqap71 ,boko ,haram1 and al-,shabab4 ,the opportunity to expand the strategic reach and force projection of the ,united ,states into the theater of operations of the ,united ,states ,africa ,command 7in this ,act referred to as ,,africom7 is now4 ,with the ,united ,states strategic pivot to the ,pacific now underway1 the need to ensure retention of a strong ,atlantic presence is a vital and delicate aspect of strategic re-positioning4 7#b7 ,the ,united ,states ,central ,command operates from its headquarters in ,tampa1 ,florida1 with a forward operating location in ,qatar4 ,the ,united ,states ,southern ,command operates from its headquarters in ,miami1 ,florida1 with forward operating locations in ,honduras and ,el ,salvador4 ,it is not unusual for ,united ,states military units and their combatant command headquarters to operate in different time zones4 7#c7 ,analyses conducted by the ,government ,accountability ,office found that the annual recurring cost of maintaining a ,united ,states-based headquarters for ,,africom would be #fj million to #gj million less than the cost of operating the ,,africom headquarters in ,stuttgart1 ,germany4 ,the annual cost of providing ,,africom personnel with overseas housing and cost-of-living pay was #ha million per year1 compared with the #ai million to #be million these would cost if the personnel were located in the ,united ,states4 ,the break-even point to recover one-time relocation costs to the ,united ,states would be reached between #b and #f years after relocation1 depending on the costs to establish facilities in the ,united ,states4 ,relocating ,,africom to the continental ,united ,states could create up to #d1cjj additional jobs1 with an annual impact on the local economy ranging from #cej million to #dej million4 7#d7 ,after an internal cost assessment1 the ,department of ,defense decided to keep ,,africom headquarters in ,stuttgart1 without fully explaining why the operational benefits of keeping the headquarters in ,germany outweigh the benefit of potentially saving millions of dollars per year and creating thousands of jobs in the ,united ,states4 7#e7 ,a review by the ,government ,accountability ,office in #bjac of the ,department's decision to keep ,,africom headquarters in ,germany found that the decision was not supported by comprehensive and well-documented analysis that balanced the operational and cost benefits of the options available to the ,department4 7#f7 ,in ,april #bjac1 after the decision had been made to maintain ,,africom headquarters in ,germany1 ,secretary of ,defense ,chuck ,hagel called on the ,department to challenge all past assumptions in order to seek cost savings and efficiencies in a time of unprecedented shifts in the world order1 new global challenges1 and deep global fiscal uncertainty1 to explore the full range of options for implementing ,united ,states national security strategy1 and to put everything on the table4 ,the ,secretary stated that the size and shape of the military forces should constantly be reassessed4 ,he stated that this reassessment should include determining the most appropriate balance between forward-stationed1 rotationally deployed1 and home-based forces4 7#g7 ,it is within the strategic and fiscal responsibility of ,congress to fully analyze and provide for the implementation of any consolidation of military installations4 ,there are more than #aaj1jjj troops and civilians stationed and employed at #bi military installations in ,europe4 ,priority should be given to consolidating bases that are in close proximity to each other and that can achieve cost savings without detriment to operational readiness1 such as ,royal ,air ,force ,station ,mildenhall and ,royal ,air ,force ,station ,lakenheath1 as well as ,moron ,air ,base1 ,spain1 and ,naval ,station ,rota1 ,spain4 7#h7 ,of particular concern is the decision to deploy assets to ,moron ,air ,base1 where the readiness and effectiveness of deployed troops is hindered by the lack of infrastructure to house1 train1 and equip them4 ,specifically1 ,moron lacks the facilities to properly perform ground and naval training operations1 and only has limited ability to accomplish air training operations4 ,by contrast1 ,lajes ,field has implemented more than #aej million of major infrastructure upgrades over the past #ab years to improve the quality of life1 upgrade communication capabilities1 bolster security1 and enhance military operations4 ,with a nearby port1 sprawling fields1 and unrestricted airspace1 ,lajes ,field has the unique ability to host extensive air1 ground1 and naval training operations4 ,lajes' strategic location1 infrastructure improvements1 unrestricted air space1 and outstanding training environment for all forces make this an indispensable asset and an ideal forward operating base for ,,africom1 as opposed to spending hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade aging sites such as ,moron ,air ,base1 ,spain4 7#i7 ,it is in the national interest of the ,united ,states to save millions of dollars per year and bring thousands of jobs to the ,united ,states by moving ,,africom headquarters from ,stuttgart1 ,germany1 to the continental ,united ,states4 #c4 ,requirement for plan to move ,,africom headquarters to continental ,united ,states 7a7 ,plan required ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall develop a plan in accordance with subsection 7b7 to transfer the headquarters of ,,africom from ,stuttgart1 ,germany1 to a location in the continental ,united ,states4 7b7 ,matters covered 7#a7 ,assets of ,,africom ,the plan required under this section shall provide for-- 7,a7 the #feth ,air ,base ,wing to be an ,,africom asset2 7,b7 ,,africom permanent assets 7including assets related to air1 ground1 special operations1 and logistics7 to be located at ,lajes ,field1 ,azores1 ,portugal2 and 7,c7 the transfer of ,united ,states assets at ,lajes ,field from ,united ,states ,european ,command to ,,africom1 for purposes of being the forward operating location1 logistical hub1 and location of assets of ,,africom4 7#b7 ,relocations to ,lajes ,field ,the plan required under this section shall also provide for the relocation of the ,special-,purpose ,marine ,air-,ground ,task ,force ,crisis ,response 7,,sp-,,magtf ,,cr7 from ,moron ,air ,base1 ,spain1 to ,lajes ,field4 7c7 ,submission to ,congress ,the plan required under this section shall be submitted to ,congress not later than #f months after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7d7 ,implementation of plan ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall implement the plan required by this section within #f months after submission of the plan to ,congress under subsection 7c71 and in no event later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #d4 ,requirement for review of ,agreement on ,cooperation and ,defense ,between the ,united ,states and ,portugal ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall conduct a review of the ,agreement on ,cooperation and ,defense ,between the ,united ,states and ,portugal1 signed at ,lisbon ,june #a1 #aiie1 to ensure that such ,agreement accurately reflects and accounts for the plan required under section #c4 #e4 ,continued operation of ,lajes ,field ,effective until at least the date of completion of the #bjah quadrennial defense review1 ,lajes ,field shall continue operating #bd hours a day1 at or above its #bjab levels of readiness4