The Senate Armed Services Committee’s Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act last week stipulates that the Office of Economic Adjustment will be redesignated as the ‘‘Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation.’’

Like the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA), the redesignated office will continue to fall under the purview of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.

The acting Under Secretary, currently Ellen Lord, will assign the Director of Local Defense Community operation.

Key function outlined in the NDAA for the redesignated office include providing assistance to states, counties municipalities, regions and communities to “foster greater cooperation with military installations in order to enhance the military mission, achieve facility and infrastructure savings and reduced operating costs, address encroachment and compatible land use issues, support military families, and increase military, civilian, and industrial readiness and resiliency.”

Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation would also address the impact of basing decisions, increases or decreases in civilian and contractor personnel, as well as expansions of BRAC.

Furthermore, the organization would “provide support to the Economic Adjustment Committee within the Executive Office of the President.”

Finally the NDAA requires that the Director of the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation to provide an annual report to Congress no later than June 1 each year.

Full language of the OEA’s redesignation can be found on pages 519-522 of the Senate NDAA.

Photo by OEA