Bush nominates commission on military base closures

Boston.com
March 15, 2005

By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON --New England lawmakers criticized President Bush's choices for a
commission charged with closing some U.S. military bases, saying there are
no representatives on the panel from the Northeast.

Bush on Tuesday nominated eight people with ties to defense to serve on the
commission.

State officials and members of Congress from Maine to Connecticut, including
Republican Govs. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and M. Jodi Rell of
Connecticut, had pushed for a New Englander to be named to the commission
with the hope it would help stem base closures in the region.

"New England plays a unique role in the development of defense technology
and has tremendous growth potential to offer. That regional perspective
deserves fair representation," said Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass.

Rell and Connecticut's congressional delegation had suggested Gary Bennett,
a former Navy officer and defense industry official from Stonington, Conn.,
as a member of the commission. Without someone from Connecticut or the other
New England states, the process will begin without any members who
understand the region and the contributions of the U.S. Submarine Base in
Groton, Rell said.

"The submarine base has an economic impact of more than $2.5 billion a year.
The base represents jobs for the people of Connecticut and a powerful weapon
in our nation's defense arsenal," Rell said. "We will work closely with the
BRAC Commission to keep this base open."

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said she was "profoundly disappointed that a
New Englander was not included.

"This disturbing decision compromises fairness and balance in a process that
is vitally important to our nation's defense and in which the stakes for
local communities are extraordinarily high, especially given the fact that
New England has lost 50 percent of its military installations in the prior
four rounds of base closings," she said.

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine and the Naval Submarine Base in
Connecticut, as well as Hanscom Air Force Base and Natick Labs in
Massachusetts, have all been mentioned as possible targets for closure this
year.

Rep. Rob Simmons, R-Conn., said he was disappointed in the president's
decision, but added that lawmakers will continue to make their case for the
submarine base to stay open.

The president nominated a number of retired military officers, including one
from his home state of Texas and one from Illinois, the home state of House
Speaker Dennis Hastert.

He had previously nominated former Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony
Principi to lead the nine-member independent commission.

Congress authorized the fifth round of military base closures last year. If
confirmed by the Senate, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission will
review a list of closures the Pentagon must propose by May.

The president nominated:

--James H. Bilbray of Nevada, a former Army reservist and a former
congressman who served on international relations, armed services and
intelligence committees.

--Philip Coyle of California, a senior adviser to the Center for Defense
Information and a former assistant defense secretary.

--Harold W. Gehman Jr. of Virginia, a retired Navy admiral and former NATO
supreme allied commander.

--James V. Hansen of Utah, a Navy veteran and former congressman who served
on the armed services committee.

--James T. Hill of Florida, a retired Army general and former combatant
commander of the U.S. Southern Command.

--Claude M. Kicklighter of Georgia, a retired Army lieutenant general and
the assistant secretary for policy and planning at the Veterans Affairs
Department.

--Samuel Knox Skinner of Illinois, a former Army reservist and one-time
chief of staff and secretary of transportation under President George H.W.
Bush.

--Sue Ellen Turner of Texas, a retired Air Force brigadier general who is a
member of the American Battle Monuments Commission.

N.E. braces for base closings with no commissioner of its own

By Ryan Lenz, Associated Press Writer

PORTLAND, Maine --The absence of a New Englander on the commission named to
review the Pentagon's list of proposed base closings has left the region
without the leverage those pushing to keep bases alive fear they need.

The nine-member panel announced this week includes commissioners from
California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
While they bring a spectrum of experience and perspective, many argue that
being unfamiliar with New England could be detrimental to the decisions they
make.

"The law is a very good means of making the nation swallow a bitter pill
without blaming anybody ... but we don't know that we have commissioners who
know the area," said William McDonough, a retired Navy captain with Save Our
Shipyard, which has lobbied for months to save Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld must give a list of bases the Pentagon
wants to close to the commission by May. The commissioners then review --
and can change -- the list before passing along final recommendation to
President Bush.

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Brunswick Naval Air Station in Maine and
the Naval Submarine Base in Connecticut, as well as Hanscom Air Force Base
and Natick Labs in Massachusetts, have been mentioned as possible targets
for closure.

But without a commissioner intimately familiar with those bases, the impact
they have on surrounding communities and their importance in homeland
defense missions, military analysts argue mistakes could be made in this
year's closings.

"The commissioners will have a greater affinity for the places they know
than for the places they don't," said Loren Thompson, of the Lexington
Institute, who has predicted New England to fare poorly. "It does further
stack the deck."

State officials and congressional leaders of both parties from Maine to
Connecticut have spent months pushing for a New Englander to be appointed to
the commission with hopes such a presence would stem base closures in the
region.

But they differed on whether the lack of a New Englander on the panel would
be a problem.

"Having someone on the commission does not guarantee your base will be
saved," said Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn. "And not having someone on it
doesn't necessarily mean the base won't be saved."

But Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., called it a serious problem.

"It makes me uneasy," said Shays. "There should be a regional focus to
this."

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) plans to question each nominee during their
confirmation hearings about the importance of geographic diversity among
bases to ensure they are aware of the disadvantage leaving specific areas
without a military presence would pose.

"It just seems insensitive of the administration to ignore concerns about
geographic representation given how high the stakes are," Collins said.

© Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
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