(Washington, DC)  -- U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-Concord) today issued the following statement about the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) list that targets the DFAS Center in Cleveland.

 “Now is not the time for foot-stomping or pouting. We need to concentrate our efforts on making a convincing case to the President before September 8th that this recommendation to realign the Cleveland DFAS Center is misguided based on the very criteria under which the decision was made.”

 LaTourette said he would make the case that at least three of the eight factors that led to DFAS being placed on the BRAC list were made in error:   Cost and manpower implications; extent and timing of potential costs and savings, including the number of years, beginning with the date of completion of the closure or realignment, for the savings to exceed the costs; and economic impact on existing communities in the vicinity of military installations.

 LaTourette said the BRAC report states that a total of 1,875 jobs will be lost in Cleveland if the realignment stands – 1,028 DFAS positions and another 847 jobs through indirect job reductions.  The report further states that this job loss amounts to just 0.1 percent of the Metropolitan Statistical Area’s employment, but LaTourette said this fails to address the fact that the jobs are based in the city of Cleveland, not the surrounding area, and that losing the DFAS center will amount to losing the city’s fourth largest employer and a tremendous tax base.

 LaTourette said the Pentagon’s own estimates on savings make this a foolish move.

 “The Pentagon wants to spend $282 million to close various DFAS sites and shuffle around thousands of DFAS jobs to save $158 million in the next five years, and that makes no sense to me,” LaTourette said.

 “Whatever savings may be reaped down the road don’t undo the economic sucker punch leveled at Cleveland that could damage the city for decades. The loss of DFAS means the loss of the city’s fourth largest employer, the loss of some of the best paying jobs in the city and a huge loss of income tax for a city already struggling with the highest poverty level in the nation.”

 LaTourette added that Cleveland DFAS employees who are offered jobs at other locations will have their relocation expenses picked up by BRAC.