[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 40 (Friday, March 3, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   GUAM HARDEST HIT BY BASE CLOSINGS

  (Mr. UNDERWOOD asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to point out the 
schizophrenia being experienced at the Pentagon these days.
  Under the Secretary of Defense's recently released list of base 
closures to be considered by BRAC, Guam is the hardest hit American 
community on the list. It targets Guam for more personnel cuts than 
large States such as California, Virginia, and New York. The reductions 
represent between 5 and 10 percent of the entire work force on Guam, 
and as much as a quarter of Guam's economy could be adversely affected. 
Let me repeat: Up to 10 percent of the entire work force will be thrown 
out of work. If this magnitude or cut were undertaken in California, 
almost 1.5 million jobs would be affected.
  To compound this problem, the Navy is trying to have it both ways. 
They are closing down facilities, saying they do not need them, and at 
the same time holding on to all the ports, drydocks, floating cranes, 
and other equipment in case they need the harbor in the future. This 
schizophrenia will leave our community in a straitjacket without the 
tools for our own economic survival. The military has the schizophrenia 
and we suffer the consequences. We need our facilities back.

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