Lease-construction shifts base-building costs from upfront appropriation to decades of guaranteed rent
Evidence
For the Gricignano site, Congress and the Navy decided to use a procedure called “lease-construction.” Rather than buying land and paying for construction through congressional appropriations, the Navy invited developers to build the support site to its specifications. In exchange, the Navy promised to lease the site from the developer for thirty years. After that, the developer would get the buildings back, with the right to rent them to the Navy or anyone else. The initial costs to the U.S. government would be nearly zero—the developer would pay all the construction and land acquisition costs while getting the security of guaranteed future rent. Congress, on the other hand, would be on the hook for thirty or more years of lease payments. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 350
Categorization
Category: Definitional Content
- DEFINE: Clearly explains the lease-construction procurement mechanism and its economic logic.
- QUESTION: Worth chasing: how widely is lease-construction used at other overseas bases, and what are the long-run cost implications for U.S. taxpayers?