[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 140 (Friday, October 28, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2223]
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. DIANA DeGETTE

                              of colorado

                    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.J. Res. 65) disapproving the recommendations of the 
     Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission:

  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.J. Res. 65, 
``Disapproving of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment 
Commission.''
  The BRAC Commission was tasked in the current round of base closures 
to target and eradicate inefficiency. Unfortunately, there was a host 
of friendly fire and significant collateral damage.
  I strongly support our military's attempts to streamline its 
infrastructure and reduce its operating budget, especially considering 
the deficits this Administration is running up. However, base closures 
can not impede the ability of the United States of America to protect 
its people.
  The Department of Defense, DOD, knows this, and rightly placed 
paramount emphasis on military value in its recommendations. The 
Secretary of Defense proposed to consolidate the Defense Finance and 
Accounting Service, DFAS, from an unnecessarily redundant twenty-six 
locations to three central sites. The DFAS center at Buckley Annex, 
housed in my district in Colorado, was chosen as one of these three 
sites in part due to its superlative performance on the military value 
test. In fact, when the BRAC Commission considered the DFAS realignment 
Denver's site ranked first in this category.
  For reasons other than military value, the BRAC Commission 
recommended closing DFAS Denver and moving the Air Reserve Personnel 
Center to Texas.
  Our city has suffered large base closures in past BRAC rounds. Now, 
despite a proud history of support for our nation's armed forces, 
Denver will have virtually no military presence left when these 
recommendations are executed. Mr. Chairman, given the carefully 
analyzed proposal submitted by the Secretary of Defense, this is a 
result that I simply cannot support.
  I ask my colleagues to support this Joint Resolution, and show their 
disapproval of these inequitable and inefficient recommendations.

                          ____________________