FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 14, 2005
CONTACT: Kevin Schweers
SENATOR HUTCHISON: GOODFELLOW AFB VITAL TO U.S. DEFENSE
SAN ANGELO, TX -- Goodfellow Air Force Base is and should remain an important part of America’s 21st century defense strategy, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) said today following one of her many briefings at the facility.
“Goodfellow provides our country with unmatched training and expertise that is essential to an effective military,” said Sen. Hutchison, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction. “The men and women of this installation deserve our gratitude and our unwavering support. This year in Congress I will work to ensure they receive what they need to accomplish their mission and to attract new ones.”
Sen. Hutchison has been a staunch supporter of Goodfellow, enacting budgets that have provided over $58 million in military construction spending since fiscal year (FY) 1999. In FY 2005 alone $20 million was approved to build 127 units of family housing.
This year the Pentagon will receive recommendations from the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) panel. Since the last BRAC, Sen. Hutchison has made strengthening Texas bases one of her top priorities, steering $1.5 billion in military construction funds to Texas facilities since 2000.
For years, Sen. Hutchison has urged Department of Defense leaders to overhaul America’s global alignment, which has retained a sizable presence in Europe and Asia despite the end of the Cold War and the emergence of new threats elsewhere. She also created an Overseas Basing Commission to ensure bases overseas have the same scrutiny that those in Texas will face in the upcoming 2005 BRAC. At its first hearing, the committee heard that if the Pentagon returns 29,000 soldiers from Germany - approximately two divisions - we would save up to $575 million annually and give our troops far better training capabilities and opportunities. The panel is currently surveying facilities abroad and a report is expected this year. The final report will be ready in advance of the domestic BRAC recommendations to provide the BRAC commissioners with a more comprehensive perspective.
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