House subcommittee rejects a Defense Department plan to hold another base closure round

A House subcommittee has rejected a Defense Department plan to hold another base closure round. The House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday passed an amendment to a defense bill that prohibits new rounds of BRAC, or Base Realignment and Closure. The vote was 44 to 18 along bipartisan lines. Defense Secretary Leon Pannetta had called for two base closure rounds as a way to shrink the military's budget, but the idea of base closings is an unpopular one for lawmakers, especially in an election year.