[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 34 (Thursday, February 23, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2992-S2993]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE BASE CLOSING COMMISSION

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I am deeply concerned about the fact that 
there will not be, I am told by the leadership, a vote on the nominees 
for the Base Closing Commission today.
  The fact is, on February 28, the Secretary of Defense will file for 
the Federal Register a list of bases that the 
[[Page S2993]] Secretary of Defense is recommending that will be closed 
for the consideration of the Base Closing Commission.
  Mr. President, this will make it very difficult, if not impossible, 
for the remaining nominees to the Base Closing Commission to be 
confirmed by the Senate.
  Mr. President, I view failure to move forward with the base closing 
process as an unconscionable act that will deprive the young men and 
women in the military today of their ability to defend this Nation's 
vital national security interests. We cannot spend money on bases and 
infrastructure which are no longer needed in light of the reduction of 
some 40 percent in the defense budget.
  We have, in the words of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 
Staff, Colin Powell, reduced our defense spending somewhere around 40 
to 45 percent since 1985. At the same time, we have reduced our base 
infrastructure by some 10 to 15 percent.
  We have gone through two painful rounds of base closings and now the 
third one, hopefully the last, will be facing us. If we do not move 
forward with this base closing process, we will not close bases in this 
country. We have proven that to anyone's satisfaction, which is why we 
went to the base closing process to start with.
  Mr. President, there are people on both sides of the aisle and both 
ends of Pennsylvania Avenue who do not want to see this process move 
forward.
  I believe that there is one egregious incident, for example, of a 
nominee, Gen. J.B. Davis, where incorrect information was spread around 
Hill offices which tied him to an organization that had considerable 
financial interests at many installations. I do not know who originated 
the memorandum setting out this flawed data, but it was further 
disseminated by consultants and others who somehow failed to check the 
facts of this matter.
  But the primary fact is, Mr. President, if we do not move forward 
with the base closing process, we have forgotten several things. The 
cold war is over. The defense budget is small. We have excess 
infrastructure that needs to be closed. The BRAC will go on regardless 
of Senate action, but will suffer in quality if the names are not 
brought to a vote immediately. I believe my constituents and our 
national security interests deserve the best possible Commission we can 
provide. I hope that all my colleagues will agree with that.
  Mr. President, if we do not approve the nominees, then former Senator 
Alan Dixon, who is the Chairman of the Commission, by law must proceed 
with the process. That will leave the review of the entire base closing 
proposals in the hands of one individual. He will have only one choice 
and that will be to rubberstamp whatever the Defense Department has 
recommended.
  I am convinced that that is not what the Congress had in mind when we 
set up the BRAC process. And I am convinced that the American people 
will thereby be shortchanged and bases may be closed that do not need 
to be closed and bases will be kept open that do not need to be kept 
open.
  Mr. President, I think that it is clear that the fact that one of the 
names was removed almost without cause--or at least for some period of 
time there was no information--from the nominating list by the White 
House contributed to this problem significantly. But I think there are 
ways that we could have worked it out, maybe, by withholding one name 
nominated by the other party as well as one nominated by the 
Republicans, and the other names sent forward, we could have worked 
effectively in that fashion.
  I am convinced that if we do not move forward today on these 
nominations, it places the entire concept of base closing in 
significant jeopardy.
  Mr. President I hope that the leadership will reconsider their 
decision on this issue and move forward today with the nominees for the 
Base Closing Commission for the sake of national security and for the 
sake of young men and women that are in our military today.
  Mr. President, I yield to the Senator from North Dakota what 
remaining time I have.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Grams). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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