WASHINGTON – A plan to close and reconfigure hundreds of military bases is sailing through Congress, on track to take effect in November, in a blow to communities hoping for an eleventh-hour reprieve.
In a long-shot attempt to halt the first round of base closings in a decade, the House planned a vote today on a proposal to reject the final report of the 2005 base-closing commission. Even base-closing opponents considered the effort certain to fail, like Congress’ attempts to stop the four previous rounds.
To kill the process, the Senate also would have to veto the report – and the chances of that are slim to none. In both chambers, opposition has been muted by the elimination of several major bases from the Pentagon’s original list of closures and the recent focus on hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
“I can’t see anything that stops it,” said David Berteau, a military analyst who oversaw base closings for the Pentagon in 1991 and 1993.
Even the Republican sponsor of the House resolution acknowledged that he expects the proposed shake-up of the far-flung domestic military network to become law during the second week of November.
Congressional critics and many local officials fear the effect of base closures on their area economies – and on their political futures. They argue that the United States should not restructure military bases while the U.S. military is engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The nine-member commission reviewing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s plan to restructure the U.S. domestic base network sent President Bush the report in September. It called for closing 22 major military bases and reconfiguring another 33. Hundreds of smaller facilities from coast to coast also will close, shrink or grow.
The commission said the plan would mean annual savings of $4.2 billion, compared with $5.4 billion a year under the Pentagon’s original plan.
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