New York, NY - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, New York’s first Senator to sit on the Armed Services Committee, will be visiting three New York communities on Monday that successfully had Department of Defense base closing decisions reversed by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC). These successes come on the heels of a multi-year effort by Senator Clinton and the communities on behalf of all of New York’s military installations. On Monday, August 29, she will be making visits to Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) facility in Rome, and the Stratton Air National Guard Station in Scotia, NY to celebrate their victories.

“I am so proud to represent and support New York's military bases which are part of the backbone of our national security and homeland defense, and I will continue to work to ensure that New York's defense industry continues to play a significant role in fulfilling the needs of our armed forces,” said Senator Clinton.

On May 13, 2005, the Department of Defense recommended the closure of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station and Rome DFAS as well as the realignment of the Sensors Directorate at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome and four C-130s at the Stratton Air National Guard base. The BRAC commission voted to reverse the closure of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station and the Rome DFAS and actually added as many as 600 likely jobs to the facility. The Commission also added an Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate mission to Rome and preserved the four C-130s at Stratton. In an extraordinary turnaround, New York went from having a projected loss of over a thousand jobs to likely gains of several hundred jobs.

This BRAC Commission votes cap New York’s unprecedented successes during the 2005 base closing round. On May 13, 2005, the Department of Defense recommended that several New York installations remain open including Army installations such as Fort Drum, Fort Hamilton, West Point and Watervliet Arsenal, Air National Guard installations such as Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, the Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) in Rome, Stratton Air National Guard base in Scotia, Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, and Gabreski Air National Guard base is Westhampton. The Department of Defense also recommended keeping the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate in Rome.

As New York’s first Senator to sit on the Armed Services Committee, Senator Clinton has worked to secure funding and support for all of New York's military installations. She has also repeatedly taken the opportunity to ask numerous questions and discuss the significance of the affected installations during Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearings. And she has helped secure millions of dollars in funding for projects that benefit all of New York’s military installations.

The BRAC Commission will present their official recommendations to President Bush on September 8, 2005. The President will have 15 days to endorse or oppose the Commission’s recommendations. If approved, the President will send the BRAC Commission recommendations to Congress. Congress will then have 45 days to endorse or reject the Commission’s recommendations.

Niagara Falls http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=245036&&

On Friday, Senator Clinton issued the following statement in response to the BRAC Commission’s decision to reject the Defense Department’s recommendations to close Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station:

“I’m thrilled that the BRAC commission accepted the strong arguments that we made and reversed the decision to close the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. Thanks to the hard work of the community, the service men and women at Niagara Falls will continue to support our national security and homeland defense. And I'm very pleased that the 107th Air National Guard unit will continue to support our national security at Niagara Falls with this new mission. Today’s action will preserve the thousands of jobs that were jeopardized just a few short months ago. I’m proud to represent Niagara Falls Air Reserve station and as a member of the Armed Services Committee, I will continue to fight to support this installation.”

Only weeks after the 9/11 attacks, Senator Clinton first visited Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, and in July of 2004 she met with members of the Niagara Falls Military Affairs Council. This past February, the Senator met with the U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff, General John Jumper, to discuss and promote New York's Air Force installations including Niagara Falls, and later that month met with Col. Jim Roberts, the Commander of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. In April she met with Dr. Phil Grone, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Installations and Environment, the Defense Department’s point person on BRAC. And in May she met with BRAC Commission Chairman Anthony Principi.

Since the May 13th BRAC announcement, Senator Clinton has worked tirelessly to reverse the Defense Department’s recommendations to close Niagara. She immediately visited with Niagara’s community groups to vow to support their installations in the BRAC round, and spoke to General Jumper to express her concerns. Senator Clinton, along with other members of the NY delegation, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to express concern about DOD’s failure to publicly release installation-specific data used to prepare its recommendations as part of the BRAC process.

In June, Senator Clinton testified before the BRAC Commission regional hearing in Buffalo on behalf of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. She also spoke spoken with Chairman Principi, and met or spoken with each commissioner on behalf of New York’s installations.

In July, in response to request from Senator Clinton, the Air Force released site survey information that estimated the costs for implementing its C-130 relocation recommendations to a single base are $292 million, almost three times the Air Force’s estimate provided to the BRAC commission of approximately $102 million.

The 914th Airlift Wing (AW) is the lead Air Reserve airlift wing whose night vision goggle capability led to a number of special ops missions in Iraq. They operate the most modern C-130 aircraft in the Air Reserve and were the first Reserve unit sent back to Iraq for a second time. During the early stages of the war, they were the first Air Force unit operationally based 24-7 inside Iraq.

The 107th Air Refueling Wing (ARW) at Niagara was recently designated as a permanent member of the Northeast Tanker Task Force (TTF) in addition to the sites in Bangor, ME and Pease, NH. The Task Force supports every aircraft going to Europe and Southwest Asia (Iraq).

Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station employs 821 full time and 2,581 guardsmen and has an economic impact of $153 million on the community annually.

Rome http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=244989&&

On Thursday, Senator Clinton issued the following statement in response to the BRAC Commission’s decision to:

• Reject the Defense Department’s recommendations to close the Rome Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFAS) facility;

• Consolidate the Information Directorate to Rome by moving an information directorate facility from Wright Patterson to Rome; and

• Maintain the Pentagon’s decision to realign the positions at Rome Lab Sensors Directorate:

“I’m delighted that the BRAC commission accepted the strong arguments that we made and reversed the decision to close Rome’s Defense Finance and Accounting Service facility. Thanks to the hard work of the community, Rome’s DFAS facility will continue to provide its high quality services to our nation’s Department of Defense. Today’s action will preserve the almost 400 jobs that were jeopardized just a few short months ago. Moreover, this decision leaves the door open for further expansion of up to 600 additional jobs at the DFAS facility, a measure that I have long supported and will continue to fight for as a member of the Armed Services Committee."

“I’m also delighted that the BRAC commission accepted our arguments and has located the Information Directorate facility to the Rome Air Force Research Laboratory. Rome’s role as the headquarters for the Information Directorate makes it the ideal place for this mission. This decision will ensure that the Air Force Research Lab in Rome will continue to be a world class facility supporting our nation defense. I was proud to work with the Rome community in making the case to the Commission and I look forward, as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, to continuing to support the Rome Air Force Research Laboratory in the years to come.”

In January, Senator Clinton visited Rome Air Force Research Laboratory, and in February the Senator met with the U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff, General John Jumper, to discuss and promote New York's Air Force installations, including the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome. In April she met with Rome Community members to prepare for the BRAC round, as well as Dr. Phil Grone, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Installations and Environment, the Defense Department’s point person on BRAC. In May she met with BRAC Commission Chairman Anthony Principi.

Since the May 13th BRAC announcement, Senator Clinton has worked tirelessly to reverse the Defense Department’s recommendations to close the Rome facilities. She immediately visited with Rome’s community groups to vow to support their installations in the BRAC round, and spoke to General Jumper to express her concerns. In June, Senator Clinton testified before the BRAC Commission regional hearing in Buffalo on behalf of Rome’s facilities. She also spoke with Chairman Principi, and met personally with each commissioner on behalf of New York’s installations.

The Air Force Research Laboratory at Griffiss Business and Technology Park is a recognized leader in the development and fielding of information technology. They have been prime contributors to the Air Force's Command, Control, Communications, Computing and Intelligence technology for many years. AFRL has more than 800 employees and 600 on-site contractors. The annual payroll is about $69 million. In addition, the lab is responsible for an estimated additional 1,514 jobs in Oneida and Herkimer counties, with combined salaries of $47 million.

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service - Rome was activated on April 3, 1995, as part of the consolidation of service finance and accounting operations. The approximately 375 employees of DFAS-Rome provide the Army with the best finance services possible during times of peace and conflict by providing temporary duty travel pay, vendor pay, accounting data processing and reports production and system support.

Stratton http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=245035&&

On Friday, Senator Clinton issued the following statement in response to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission’s decision to keep four C-130 Aircraft as a part of the 109th Airlift Wing at Stratton Air National Guard base:

“I am thrilled that the BRAC Commission accepted my strong recommendation to preserve the four C-130 aircraft at Stratton Air National Guard Base. I am proud that the BRAC commission recognizes the military value of these planes, the strength of the local community, and the important role they play in the defense of our nation.”

“When I met with community leaders at Stratton in February of 2004, we discussed the importance of mobilizing a team effort to ensure the 109th Airlift Wing remained safe during this BRAC round. I am so pleased that our team effort and hard work paid off.”

The 109th Airlift Wing is home to the Department of Defense’s only ski-equipped C-130 aircraft and is the single point airlift manager for the National Science Foundation scientific research mission in both the Arctic and Antarctic. In addition to the Airlift Wing, the New York State Military Naval Counterdrug Unit Headquarters and the 2nd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support team call the base home.

West Point http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=244896&&

On Wednesday, Senator Clinton issued the following statement in response to the BRAC Commission’s addition of a preparatory school to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point:

“I’m pleased that the BRAC commission today recommended that the United States Army Military Academy Preparatory School be moved to West Point. This move, which will add jobs to the Hudson Valley, will cement West Point’s position as one of the premier locations for preparing and training our nation’s future military leaders. I’m proud to represent West Point and delighted that the Academy will add this prestigious preparatory school to its mission.”

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