[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 93 (Tuesday, July 12, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H5642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     ELLINGTON FIELD AIR FORCE BASE

  (Mr. POE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I question whether the Defense Department in 
the base closing process has neglected the obvious: homeland security.
  No place does this appear more evident than Ellington Field in 
Houston, Texas. It is said that Ellington Air Force base with its F-16 
fighters and National Guard units are of little military value. Without 
agreeing to that, I point out that over 8 million people live in the 
area. There are three major ports: the port of Houston, second largest 
in the United States, sixth in the world; Port Arthur; Port of 
Beaumont, where one third of the military cargo going to Iraq comes out 
of this one small port. The massive petrochemical and refineries in the 
region, Houston still is the energy capital of the world. Over one-half 
of the gasoline refined in the United States comes from this area. Of 
course, we have the nuclear power plant in southeast Texas, the largest 
medical center in the world, and then there is NASA.
  Mr. Speaker, I served in the United States Air Force and was 
stationed at Ellington Field, and the people of southeast Texas want 
Ellington. They want to keep those F-16s flying. When 9/11 hit, it was 
the F-16s at Ellington that flew over the blue skies of Texas on watch. 
It would defy common sense to take those fighters from this needed area 
of securing the homeland.

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