FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 2005
CONTACT: Chris Paulitz
SENATOR HUTCHISON COMMENTS ON OVERSEAS BASING COMMISSION REPORT
WASHINGTON, DC -- Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Chairman of the Senate Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, today reacted to the Overseas Basing Commission report. Today’s report was the first given by the commission since its creation through bipartisan legislation Sen. Hutchison introduced in April, 2003. Sen. Hutchison will chair a Military Construction Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, May 10, on the commission’s report.
“This commission was charged with evaluating our overseas military needs and capabilities in this post-Cold War, post-September 11 era,” Sen. Hutchison said. “The challenges we must overcome as the military undergoes realignments at home and abroad are significant and this report will help us more fully understand and address those needs. I look forward to Tuesday’s hearing where we will examine this report in greater detail.”
The report supported the Department of Defense’s military realignment strategy but highlighted areas the Department needs to fully consider.
“The Department of Defense is doing a very good job in determining where our troops can best train and be deployed,” Sen. Hutchison said. “I support this strategy of training at home where we have the space and the equipment. The commission conclusion that lift capacity must be analyzed carefully will help the Department of Defense as it is making the appropriate plans.
“As Chairman of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, I have been working for years to ensure military families have the necessary housing, schools and medical facilities they need,” Sen. Hutchison said. “Our brave soldiers and their families deserve quality housing, classrooms and medical facilities.”
Introduced by Sen. Hutchison and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and signed into law on November 22, 2003, the Military Facility Structure Review Act established a congressional commission to conduct a comprehensive study of U.S. military facilities abroad. The panel, composed of eight members with extensive national security or foreign affairs experience, was instructed to consider existing base structure and location and assess whether they meet current and future mission needs. The legislation won congressional approval as part of the Military Construction appropriations bill for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004.
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