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A bill passed by Congress last week would delay the relocation of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center to Bethesda by at least a year, unless the secretary of defense chooses to waive the restriction.

But it is virtually certain that Defense Secretary Robert Gates would waive the restriction and require the new facility to open in September 2011 as currently planned, according to Montgomery County Base Realignment and Closure Coordinator Phil Alperson.

Section 8020 of the fiscal year 2009 Defense Appropriations bill, part of the omnibus spending bill, would prevent more than $500,000 being spent in any one fiscal year for any relocation of Department of Defense operations into or within the National Capital Region.

Alperson said this would essentially hamstring the BRAC project, aside from minor personnel moves, until at least the 2010 fiscal year when funding could be reconsidered.

But the same section contains the sentence: "(The) Secretary of Defense may waive this restriction on a case-by-case basis by certifying in writing to the congressional defense committees that such a relocation is required in the best interest of the Government."

A joint explanatory statement also criticized the Department of Defense's "lack of adequate planning and design" regarding the new Walter Reed facility, including the mitigation of the traffic impact.

In the explanatory statement attached to the bill, House Appropriations Committee members criticized the $740 million in cost overruns and the failure to address several key issues.

"The Department of Defense and the community have yet to solve how ingress and egress will be affected to support a facility for which the daily population of patients and staff will increase by over 4,000 individuals," reads part of the statement.

Alperson said while BRAC would likely proceed as planned, the bill could lead to a closer examination of funding issues by the Defense Department and a smoother local transition for the project.

U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington said the statement reflected the concern of fellow Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) about Walter Reed's transition. Murtha is chair of the defense subcommittee on the House Appropriations Committee.

At a Sept. 16 Montgomery County BRAC meeting, Alperson noted that Van Hollen had been speaking with Murtha about BRAC traffic issues.

"In my view, doing it right means building a world class facility for our wounded warriors, without any undue delay or added cost, while minimizing the impact on the local community — especially as regards traffic congestion, " Van Hollen said through a spokeswoman, Marilyn Campbell. "Chairman Murtha is fully aware of this challenge and had pledged his commitment to work with us to get the traffic issue properly addressed as part of a comprehensive approach to the new Walter Reed in Bethesda."    

The bill also directs the Secretary of Defense to submit a detailed schedule of construction completion dates and other transitional projects to congressional defense committees within 120 days of the bill's enactment.

"They need to come up with concrete plans," Alperson said. "They need to move forward with this Defense Access Road issue with the metro entrance. They need to commit to addressing those two lanes…and Congress needs to come up with the dollars."

At the county BRAC community meeting in September, the State Highway Administration presented a traffic simulation of the traffic impact of the new Walter Reed facility in 2011 with no road improvements. Southbound delays in the simulation increased over 30 percent from the current levels.