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(Washington, D.C.) U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, along
with Fourth District U.S. Representative Mike Ross, Friday reacted to Secretary
Rumsfeld’s recommendations to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission,
issued in a comprehensive report earlier today. The report which was last
issued in 1995 includes the Defense Department’s recommendations to close
or realign U.S. military facilities. All three lawmakers cautioned that
today’s BRAC report contains recommendations only, which are still subject
to approval by the BRAC Commission, President Bush and Congress before
becoming law.
The report recommends the closure of the Red River Army Depot and Lone
Star Ammunition Plant, located near Texarkana, Texas, and that employs
hundreds of Southwest Arkansas residents. In fact, according to the Department
of the Army, the Red River Depot employs 2,500 directly and 1,676 indirectly,
and the Lone Star Ammunition Plant employs 149 directly and 80 indirectly
for a grand total of 4,405 jobs.
"We’ve worked extremely hard over the years to strengthen Red River
and Lone Star and we’re certainly not going to accept these recommendations
without a fight," Lincoln said. "We’re currently in the middle of a war,
and it makes no sense to close these two facilities which are providing
vital services to aid our men and women in uniform who are stationed abroad.
These two facilities support thousands of jobs in Southwest Arkansas and
Northeast Texas and are critical to the economic well being of the region.
Not to mention that they are strategically located in the center of the
country, allowing them to serve a number of bases in a cost effective and
timely manner. As the BRAC process moves forward, I look forward to making
sure this message is heard loud and clear."
“I am disappointed that Secretary Rumsfeld has not seen the obvious
value and potential of the Red River and Lone Star Army Depot,” said Pryor.
“They provide support and maintenance for some of our most critical weapons
systems and vehicles including the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and Multiple
Launch Rocket System, both of which have been key to our efforts in Afghanistan
and Iraq.
“I have talked to BRAC Commission Chairman Anthony Principi and he has
agreed to meet with the delegation next week. This is the beginning of
a process – the BRAC Commission has until October to revise this list and
the President will not certify it until November. In the next few months
I will continue to work with my fellow delegation members as we scrutinize
the DOD’s recommendation and work to make sure the BRAC Commission understands
all that Red River and Lone Star have to offer.”
“The Red River Army Depot and the Lone Star Ammunition Plant are both
vital military facilities,” said Ross. “The Red River Depot is one of the
premier sites in the world for making protective armor for Humvees. I would
have hoped that during a time of war, the Department of Defense would have
erred on the side of keeping military facilities that provide important
functions critical to carrying out our mission in Iraq and that provide
important protections for our brave men and women in uniform open.
“Fortunately, the Defense Department’s recommendations for base closures
are just what they are – recommendations. This is the first step in a long
and lengthy base realignment process, and I will be working closely with
Arkansas’s congressional delegation, as well as Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison,
John Cornyn and Representative Ralph Hall – whose district includes the
Red River and Lone Star Depots, and the Texarkana community to fight to
keep the Red River Army Depot open. I have already talked with Congressman
Hall and Texarkana community leaders, and have pledged to assist them in
any way I can concerning this effort. In fact, I will be in Texarkana
at 1:30 p.m. this Sunday to meet with local officials as we develop a plan
to get these military facilities off the list.”
Despite the report’s recommendation today to close the Red River Army
Depot and the Lone Star Ammunition Plant, the state of Arkansas as a whole
stands to have a net gain in jobs based on BRAC’s recommendations.
The three Arkansas lawmakers said that they would pursue all possible
options to reverse BRAC’s recommendation to close both Red River Army Depot
and the Lone Star Ammunition Plant. The three vowed to work with
the independent BRAC Commission to demonstrate the value of the facilities
to our national defense, submit testimony in support of the two facilities
throughout the BRAC process, and seek all available alternatives to ensure
the long-term sustainability of Red River and Lone Star. |
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