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(Washington, DC.) – Representatives Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) today reacted with disappointment to Congress’s failure to pass a resolution of disapproval on the proposed final Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) list submitted by President Bush to the Congress.
"As the BRAC Commission itself pointed out when it began its hearings this summer, this entire process has put the cart before the horse” said Holt. “We are proceeding with base closures before the Pentagon has even completed its periodic force structure review, which is supposed to be the blueprint it needs to build a force for the 21st century.
"I cannot emphasize enough how damaging it will be for our country if we fail to preserve our research and development infrastructure, particularly in the areas of communications and intelligence. Halting this flawed process would have enabled us to enhance, rather than degrade, the security of our country. Unfortunately, Congress has now squandered that opportunity."
"I simply cannot believe Congress would want to shut down military infrastructure during a time of war," Pallone said. "I believed the BRAC Commission would be an independent broker that would review each facility, analyze the data and come to a conclusion based on facts. Unfortunately, in the case of Fort Monmouth, that simply did not happen. While the BRAC Commission admitted the Army substantially deviated from six of the eight BRAC criteria, it chose to close Fort Monmouth with absolutely no regard for the soldier in the field.
"Today's decision by Congress could have serious implications for both our national security and our overall fiscal situation," Pallone continued. "I simply do not agree with analysts at the Pentagon who claim closing Fort Monmouth will save the taxpayer money down the line." |
