(Washington, DC)  --  U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-Concord Township) today opposed a measure in the House of Representatives intended to overturn all Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) recommendations.  The resolution of disapproval, H.J.Res. 65, failed by a vote of 85-324 with one voting present, meaning all the BRAC recommendations will go forward, including the recommendation to keep the Cleveland Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) office open.

 LaTourette spoke on the House Floor today about the group effort it took to save Cleveland DFAS, and cited working with Reps. Kucinich and Tubbs Jones, Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell, and the business and labor communities.  All came together to save DFAS, he said.

 “Cleveland didn’t win because Cleveland had more political muscle.  Cleveland won on the facts,” LaTourette said on the House Floor.

 The Department of Defense (DoD) wanted to close down Cleveland DFAS office, where the average salary is $54,000.  LaTourette’s staff conducted an exhaustive study of more than 5,000 pages of internal DoD documents and was able to find many flaws that landed Cleveland on the closure list.  Those flaws included overstating Cleveland’s operating costs by up to 85 percent and penalizing the Celebrezze Federal Building for not meeting DoD anti-terror standards years before they take effect.  It would have cost $29 million to close the office.

 LaTourette thanked the BRAC Commission for not just looking at numbers, but also the human cost of closing the Cleveland DFAS office, which has a highly skilled and effective workforce.  LaTourette said he has been contacted by many families who work at DFAS and are thrilled they won’t have to move.

 “One constituent said his sons were elated they didn’t have to move and change schools since they had just started junior high and high school.  A grandmother thanked me for keeping her grandchildren close by,” he said.  “Saving DFAS took a lot work, but it’s been an incredibly rewarding process.”

 LaTourette said today’s vote will free him to discuss the future transformation of all DFAS offices with the head of DFAS, Zack Gaddy, who has not been at liberty to discuss the issue while BRAC was pending before Congress.  One issue LaTourette will discuss is the possibility of a new building for DFAS Cleveland to accommodate more workers.  LaTourette today renewed his request for a meeting.

 “I think if you look at the existing office space available at other DFAS facilities and the cost to expand or retrofit those buildings, it makes sense to look to Cleveland as a place for even more job growth,”  LaTourette said.  “We had our first taste of victory in August when the BRAC Commission voted to keep Cleveland open.  Now we can crack out the champagne because Congress has made it official.”