[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 140 (Friday, October 28, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   DISAPPROVING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE DEFENSE BASE CLOSURE AND 
                         REALIGNMENT COMMISSION

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. MARK GREEN

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 27, 2005

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration of the joint resolution 
     (H.R. Res. 65) disapproving the recommendations of the 
     Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission:

  Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin. Mr. Chairman, first and foremost, the 
implementation of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission 
recommendations will provide badly needed cost savings to our Nation. 
With the current state of our Federal budget, the enormous estimated 
spending reductions of over $35 billion achieved through this new BRAC 
round are necessary to help put our fiscal house in order. These 
recommendations will also better enable our military services to 
confront the new threats our Nation faces today--increasing efficiency 
and effectiveness, and improving our national security.
  That said, I still firmly disagree with some of the specific BRAC 
recommendations, such as the closure of the 440th Airlift Wing at 
General Mitchell Field in Milwaukee. The closure of the 440th is the 
wrong decision,. and I have done everything in my power to try and 
convince the BRAC Commission that keeping the 440th up and running is 
an important priority. The 1,100 brave men and women of this unit have 
proven themselves often in recent missions to Honduras, Haiti, Somalia, 
Rwanda, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and several trips to Iraq. I 
believe their continued operations would have enhanced the security of 
our country.
  Today, however, we were faced with an up-or-down vote on the BRAC 
Commission recommendations as a whole. On balance, I found the 
recommendations to be worthy of approval, and voted--with some 
reservations--against the motion to disapprove the final BRAC report.

                          ____________________