Sec. 1056. Reports on infrastructure and capabilities of Lajes Field, Portugal
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Congress makes the following findings: Lajes Field, Portugal, is an enabler of United States operations in Europe, Africa, and the Atlantic. Lajes field has capabilities and infrastructure that reflect significant long-term investments by the United States, including a 10,000 foot runway, housing for more than 650 personnel and their families, a power plant and water facilities, significant communication capability, and an award-winning medical clinic. Lajes Field provides a strategic location to monitor the activities of foreign powers in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, including Russia’s increased naval presence and China’s efforts to establish a military presence in the Atlantic.
The Department of Defense has not fully utilized the infrastructure at Lajes Field. Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on the infrastructure and capabilities of Lajes Field, Portugal. Such report shall include each of the following: An assessment of the communications infrastructure at Lajes Field, including the estimated cost to— upgrade the existing infrastructure to add additional bandwidth of 56 giga-bits-per-second; and connect the existing infrastructure to any currently planned additional undersea cables to increase the available bandwidth by at least 56 giga-bits-per-second.
A justification for the current status of Lajes Field as an unaccompanied tour location and an assessment of the estimated costs of converting assignments at Lajes Field to an accompanied tour location. An assessment of the estimated cost of allowing members of the Armed Forces of the United States to occupy the on-base housing owned by the United States. An update to the Housing Requirements and Market Analysis for Lajes Field to assess the housing availability for a base population of up to 2000 military and civilian personnel.
The cost to establish Lajes Field as a location for air-to-air training or anti-submarine warfare missions, including the costs of any necessary infrastructure upgrades, as well as any potential operational benefits. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on the environmental impact of fuel storage systems at Lajes Field, Portugal.
Such report shall include an impact assessment of the soil contamination from Department of Defense fuel storage systems at Lajes Field, including an assessment of the causes of the leak of the Cabrito Pipeline.