An Analysis of the Army's Arsenal Support Program Initiative

Book excerpt: "The Congress created the Arsenal Support Program Initiative (ASPI) to help maintain the functional capabilities of the Army's three manufacturing arsenals, which are located in Rock Island, Illinois, Watervliet, New York, and Pine Bluff, Arkansas. A primary goal of the program is to enable commercial firms to lease vacant space at the arsenals once that space has been renovated, thereby encouraging collaboration between the Army and commercial firms as well as reducing the costs the government incurs to operate and maintain the arsenal facilities. Since the ASPI's inception, a number of commercial tenants have leased unused property at the arsenals; however, the financial benefits that the program has generated for the government have proved to be small relative to the program's funding. In response to a directive from the Congress, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) conducted a 'business case' analysis of the ASPI, examining the program's costs, return on investment, and economic impact. In keeping with CBO's mandate to provide objective, nonpartisan analysis, this report makes no recommendations."--Preface.