[CPEO-MEF] "BRAC-proofing"

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

States seek to save military bases 
Leaders are pledging millions in improvements in face of closures 

By Christopher Smith 
The Salt Lake Tribune 
December 6, 2004

WASHINGTON - In October, a delegation of Massachusetts VIPs led by U.S.
Sen. Edward Kennedy met with Gen. Gregory Martin, leader of the U.S. Air
Force Materiel Command, which oversees installations such as Utah's Hill
Air Force Base.

During the meeting, according to letters released by the Pentagon, the
group promised Martin the state would invest $410 million to expand
Hanscom Air Force Base near Boston, the electronic systems center for
the Air Force that was almost shuttered by the Department of Defense
(DOD) in 1995. 

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., said
the intent of the Massachusetts delegation's offer was obvious: They
were trying to improve the chances of Hanscom surviving the 2005 round
of base closures.

"The review and acceptance of this proposal by DOD and the BRAC [Base
Realignment and Closure] Commission would set a very dangerous precedent
and would likely result in a national bidding war as part of the BRAC
process," Hunter wrote Ray DuBois, the deputy undersecretary of defense
for installations and environment who is supervising the 2005 BRAC
analysis. "Further, proposals such as this frequently may not translate
into reality."

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.sltrib.com/nationworld/ci_2481937

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org
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