Posted on 04/01/2005 8:48:42 PM PST by Former Military Chick
WASHINGTON - A longtime Republican foe of this year's planned closing of military bases is trying to derail the process by blocking Senate confirmation of the head of the commission that helps pick which facilities will be shuttered, congressional aides and lobbyists said Thursday.
Most GOP leaders support closing bases and this latest round likely will go forward. But Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., a staunch defender of military facilities in his state, has pledged to do whatever it takes to block the closures.
Two weeks ago, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved President Bush's nomination of Anthony Principi, Bush's former secretary of veterans affairs, to be chairman of the commission overseeing the process.
The full Senate was expected to vote on the nomination last month before lawmakers left for a holiday break.
By May 16, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is supposed to give the commission his list of which military facilities to close in an effort to save money in the Pentagon's annual budget of almost $500 billion.
But Lott has placed a "hold" on the nomination, said aides and lobbyists speaking on condition of anonymity. The procedural move makes it hard for the Senate to vote on it.
They say Lott is expected to try to delay the confirmation of the other eight nominees once the Senate Armed Services Committee approves them.
Calls this week to Lott's office were not returned.
In February, he told The Associated Press, "I will try to stop it at any point and in any way I possibly can." He says the United States should not be closing domestic bases while its troops are waging war abroad.
Principi said he suspects the reason for the delay was not personal, and noted that some lawmakers simply are concerned about the process going forward.
"I happen to know Senator Lott. We happen to get along," Principi said Thursday.
Without confirmation, Principi cannot put together a staff and build an organization meant to give Rumsfeld's list a thorough, independent review.
"It's been a little bit of a delay," Principi said. "We'll just have to move out a little more aggressively."
The Senate committee is expected to take up the nominations of the other eight committee members in the next few weeks.
Lott has lobbied hard during previous rounds to keep open the Meridian Naval Air Station, the Columbus Air Force Base, and Naval Station Pascagoula. All are major employers in his state and all again could be targeted by the Pentagon.
Last year, Lott and Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., proposed delaying the round of domestic base closings until the Pentagon determines what it wants to do with its overseas facilities. The Pentagon and the White House opposed the measure and the Senate defeated it 49-47.
Name some bases that are unneeded besides the ones in other countries.
According to the military themselves, quite a few of them?
The military would like to close many bases, but congress forbids them from doing so, because they selfishly want the money spent in their district. They want this done even though they know the money could be spent far more effectively elsewhere, harming our military effectiveness.
Why does the military itself want to close bases? Because they know the money could be better spent elsewhere, for example weapons systems. They have a limited pile of money to work with, and in order to spend it most effectively, they need to prioritize it so it goes where it is most needed. That means not flushing money on bases that are basically congressional pork.
Well,
We had Stennis and Eastland once too remember?
not exactly chopped liver insofar as Senate power.
Lott is merely carrying on the tradition that one may close military bases anywhere but Mississippi...fair is fair.
I think Lott must know which bases are on the list... and all he wants is a little editing.
Exactly and I wish him luck...but not at the expense of OK bases...lol! Eastland & Stennis were heavy-weights & left big shoes for Lott to fill.
Living in Gulfport, and working in Biloxi, I can not possibly imagine the results of closing Keesler, but I do know one thing, it would not be in the benefit of the Gulf Coast what so ever. The Casino's can only do so much.
Jeff
You know how he must feel when they bumped him in the Senate. Question is, will he run again? There is a little former AG just waiting in the wings in Pascagoula you know.
Don't forget the Seabees in Gulfport.
They only have two bases..Gulfport MS and Port Hueneme CA
Can't get much slimmer than 8 Battalions rotating through the worlds hot, and not so hot, spots.
Seabees go to all the places that the news covers and then some. Cut down on the bases/ battalions and they'll be deployed perpetually.
And financially speaking, I'd rather endure the relatively modest costs of maintining bases in MS than almost anywhere else in the US.
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