| Agency Name: | Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation |
| Formed: | (as Office of Economic Adjustment), became OLDCC on January 1, 2021 |
| Jurisdiction: | Federal government of the United States, mainly near US military bases |
| Headquarters: | Arlington, Virginia |
| Chief1 Name: | Patrick J. O'Brien |
| Chief1 Position: | Director of the OLDCC[1] |
| Parent Department: | United States Department of Defense |
The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC), formerly the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA), is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) field activity and provides technical and financial assistance to states, territories, and communities that are invested in the defense mission. OLDCC assistance supports the readiness and resiliency of both defense installations and defense communities.
To assist affected communities, OLDCC manages and directs the Defense Economic Adjustment Program and coordinates the involvement of other federal agencies.[2]
Founded in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA), later the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC), was tasked with mitigating the adverse impact on jobs and local economies after a government cost-reduction program closed several military bases. In the late-1960s and early-70s, OEA opened regional offices in major cities nationwide to facilitate federal grant deliveries.[2]
In the 1980s, OEA phased out categorical grants (grants with specific categories upon which they can be spent) in favor of block grants (grants with few or no conditions on spending). Regional assistance waned and all offices not on the West Coast were shuttered. No major military bases were closed during the 1980s. In 1988, a new base closure statute was enacted, which was designed to shield the process from political manipulation (Pork barrel politics, i.e. congresspeople ensuring bases in their states or districts remain open for political gain). The law set up a bipartisan commission that channeled base recommendations to the president; approximately 100 bases were closed and 50 realigned.[3]
As a result of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process developed in the late-1980s and 1990s, OEA provided support to many local communities amidst defense industry cutbacks. OEA's success served as a model for communities within former Soviet States and new Eastern European countries to better cope with reductions in military spending brought about by the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[3]
In 2013, military operations partially subsided as a result of budget sequestration (spending cuts) imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011, harming Defense Department-dependent states and communities. Seeking to avert similar economic slowdowns, OEA Director O'Brien began issuing the “Defense Spending by State” report to help state and local leaders cope with potential loss of Defense contracts through economic diversification or technological innovation and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta pledged continuing aid to affected communities.[4] [5] [6]
The William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA FY2021) included a provision (Section 905) that amended Chapter 4 of Title 10 of the United States Code to rename OEA the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC). The provision took effect upon enactment of the Act on January 1, 2021.[7] [8]
Executive Order 14008, issued by President Joe Biden in early 2021, added addressing climate change to OLDCC's goals.[9]
The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation provides technical and financial assistance (referred to as economic adjustment assistance) to states and local communities supporting the mission of the Department of Defense. Such aid is intended to enhance the resiliency and readiness of defense installations and their surrounding communities.[2]
Economic adjustment assistance provides a community-based context for assessing economic hardships caused by DoD program changes by identifying and evaluating alternative courses of action, identifying resource requirements, and assisting in the preparation of an adjustment strategy or action plan to help communities help themselves. Public and private partnerships are employed in areas such as public infrastructure to help local communities, the residents of which are often employed by or otherwise support military installations, and reduce operating costs.[2]
OLDCC employees have a range of experience in economic and community development, land use planning, real estate redevelopment, federal real property programs, military programs, and worker adjustment. Project managers also bring a working knowledge of other federal agencies and their respective programs to help communities put together an adjustment program combining federal, state, local, and private resources.
OLDCC operates several programs of assistance aimed at helping local defense-supporting communities:[10]
OLDCC is a Department of Defense field activity under the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD); more specifically, within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSD(A&S)),[2] and under the purview of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations and Environment.
While headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, OLDCC retains a Western Regional Office in Sacramento, California headed by the Deputy Director, Western Regional Office.[2]
The Director of OLDCC is, by statute, appointed by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and must be a federal civilian employee or private individual with "experience in the interagency in the Executive Branch [and] experience in the administration and management of Federal grants programs." He or she is charged with operating the Office and ensuring appropriate aid is sent to Defense-supporting communities.[7] The director serves ex officio as Executive Director of the Economic Adjustment Committee, a body composed of various federal department heads and other agency leaders or their representatives that coordinates interagency economic assistance in response to Defense program changes.[9] [15]
The current director is Patrick O'Brien, an economic development expert and former HUD employee.[1]
The Economic Adjustment Committee (EAC) is a body composed of various federal department heads and other agency leaders (or their designees) that coordinates interagency economic assistance in response to Defense program changes. It is not a part of OLDCC, but works closely with the Office. With a membership similar to but greater than that of a typical presidential cabinet, the EAC's current roster of 22 is as follows:
Additionally, the Director of the Office of the Local Defense Community Cooperation serves as the EAC's Executive Director[9] [15]