Posted on 04/02/2005 10:59:46 AM PST by SmithL
WASHINGTON - President Bush, brushing aside a stall tactic by Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., appointed the nine-member commission that will determine military bases closings without waiting for Senate confirmation.
Bush made the appointments while the Senate was in recess, the White House announced Friday night. The recess appointments prevent delays as the commission prepares to make the first round of base closings in a decade.
Before it left for its spring recess the full Senate had been expected to vote on the nomination of Anthony J. Principi, former secretary of veterans affairs, as chairman of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission. The other commissioners, nominated by Bush on March 15, also required Senate confirmation.
However, Lott - who opposes base closures and has pledged to protect military facilities in his home state - placed a "hold" on Principi's nomination, according to aides and lobbyists speaking on condition of anonymity. The hold delayed voting on the nomination.
Lott was expected to place holds on the other nominations as well, the aides and lobbyists told The Associated Press earlier this week. The Senate Armed Services Committee had approved Principi's nomination and planned to review the other nominations in the next few weeks.
The White House said Bush felt the recess appointments were appropriate since the full committee had already acted on Principi. Plus, the president wants no delay in the "important work for the nation" that the base closure panel will have before it, spokesman Ken Lisaius said Saturday.
"The president believes there is important work for the (commission) to start on," he said.
Lott has said the United States should not be closing bases while troops are at war. "I will try to stop it at any point and in any way I possibly can," he said in February.
Recess appointments expire when the Senate's current session ends, in this case in 2006. However, the commission probably will have concluded its work by the end of this year.
Lott's chief of staff, William Gottshall, and Lott spokesman Lee Youngblood did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, praised the appointments, saying the closures are important for national security.
The commission law "sets a very tight schedule, with specific dates, within which the commission must hire a staff, travel to numerous military bases, consult with community leaders, conduct a thorough analysis and prepare its detailed report," Warner said in a statement. "The time to accomplish these essential tasks is very short, and I support the president's decision to expedite their appointments."
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld must recommend bases for closure or consolidation by May 16.
Appointed to the commission were:
_Principi, of California, chairman.
_Former Rep. James H. Bilbray of Nevada.
_Former Assistant Defense Secretary Philip Coyle of California.
_Retired Adm. Harold W. Gehman Jr. of Virginia.
_Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Sue Ellen Turner of Texas.
_Former Rep. James V. Hansen of Utah.
_Retired Army Gen. James T. Hill of Florida.
_Samuel Knox Skinner of Illinois, former chief of staff and transportation secretary under President George H.W. Bush.
_Retired Air Force Gen. Lloyd Warren Newton of Connecticut.
Bush had nominated retired Army Lt. Gen. Claude M. Kicklighter of Georgia for the commission. However, his name did not appear on the list of appointments. Instead, Newton was appointed. The White House statement made no reference to the change.
I nominate all the bases in Germany first.
Nobody wants to have a base close in their area, with all the attendant unemployment. That's why they do it by commission, because congress is absolutely incapable of agreeing to make these cuts.
The only rational criterion is whether a base is needed for national defense interests, or might reasonably be needed in the future.
Hopefully they will be closing some of the bases in Germany and bring some of the troops back to bases here in CONUS as well as moving some to bases further east. We need some forward bases, but Germany is a poor place to keep them.
Notice that with all of these committe memebers are from states with most military bases; i.e california, texas, flordia, and virginia. In addition I notice that with all the former military officers no MARINE representative was appointed. Sad especially since it has been the Marines and the Navy who have been carrying the brunt of the Balance in Iraq and Afganistan along with the Aid to Indonesia.
I think that some Army and Air Force Bases Should Get the Ax. The Navy cant afford to lose anything b.c they have 2 ports per coast (Jacksonville, and Norfolk East and San Diego West) and you cant crowd 200 ships into Norfolk alone.
As for the Naval Aviation overall there is only 6 bases with Naval strike aircraft: MCAS Miramar, NAS Lemoore, NAS Whibley Island, NAS North Island, NAS Oceana, and MCAS Beaufort. If I get F-18 Superhornets there is only 2 bases available to me, for EA-6B Prowlers only one base. This is opposed to lord knows how many air force bases.
Base Closures as the poor mans way of funding new weapons systems. I know that chances of us getting attacked are slim. However, I dont think that it is fundamentally wise to put all of our eggs in one basket.
It's not going to happen here - only stateside bases. DOD has the authority to close overseas bases by itself.
unbelievable... all the money that goes to foriegn aid, the UN, the farm bill, all these fed agencies like irs, batf, etc etc.... and the thing they cut is Military. did we elect a dem?
Won't happen. I guarantee it. We need Ramstein too much.
Travis AFB.
Correct and understandable. However, fighting for personal enhancement, or even personal survival, over what is best for the country is what put us where we are budget wise. For example:
Lott has said the United States should not be closing bases while troops are at war. "I will try to stop it at any point and in any way I possibly can," he said in February.
There are two large bases on the Mississippi gulf coast near Lotts Mississippi power base, Keesler AFB in Biloxi and the Ingles shipyard/naval station in Pascagoola. Both are large and important. Important enough to survive? That is for the big picture guys to decide.
It is fine for Lott to fight for their survival but to use political power plays instead of honest debate is no better than our enemy, the Democrats.
I agree. I should have said, "It's understandable, BUT," a bit more up front.
Hi. Check out the budget numbers. All the costs you listed, added up together, don't make up 10% of the Defense Budget.
The federal government spends money on a few things: Defense, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The middle two currently pay for themselves AND subsidize the other two through their own taxes. There's also interest on the outstanding debt.
Everything else you can think of is pigeon feed by comparison. You could cut all foreign aid tomorrow and it wouldn't change our long-run debt by more than trifle.
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