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This
week’s decisions by the Base Realignment and Closure
(BRAC) Commission brought joy and relief for some in
our state, and bitter disappointment for others. We
could not be more pleased for the men and women of
Kittery and Limestone, but the shocking decision to
close Brunswick Naval Air Station leaves many of us
with little desire to celebrate. The events of this
week will continue to resonate in Maine for decades
to come, so now is a time not only to evaluate what
has happened, but to look ahead to what the BRAC
Commission’s decisions will mean for our national
security and the affected communities.
Last
Wednesday, the Commission rightfully validated the
indispensable military value of the Portsmouth Naval
Shipyard. To the people of the Kittery-Portsmouth
region, this is an overwhelming and well-deserved
victory and an affirmation of the compelling case
for the shipyard, written by the unflagging
dedication to excellence of its people.
Kittery-Portsmouth has once again asserted its
prominent place in the Navy’s future.
We
have said all along that it would be unconscionable
to close the only shipyard in the country – public
or private – that puts submarines to sea ahead of
schedule while saving millions of dollars on every
job. Now, the nation’s gold standard of industrial
shipyard efficiency will continue to shine for many,
many years to come.
On
the following day, the BRAC Commission decided to
not only keep the Defense Finance Accounting Service
(DFAS) Center in Limestone open, but to expand it to
not less than 600 positions, nearly doubling the
number of jobs at the site. This was one of the
brightest days in recent memory for the people of
Aroostook County, who have contributed so much to
our nation, and suffered so greatly from the base
closure process in the past. By deciding to expand
operations at Limestone, the
Commission affirmed
the critical value of a workforce of the highest
quality and greatest efficiency, sending a message
that excellence does matter.
It is
those who work at DFAS Limestone who made the case
that was recognized and accepted by the commission –
that Limestone should be expanded as a DFAS “Center
of Excellence.” I applaud the BRAC Commission for
underscoring that Limestone is a pillar of our
defense administration infrastructure, and I
appreciate the Commission effectively overturned the
Department’s plan to collapse Limestone and 25 other
facilities into just three locations.
Unfortunately, during the same week in which
Portsmouth and Limestone were vindicated, the
Commission voted to close Brunswick Naval Air
Station. This decision is deeply disturbing,
because it ignores the clear and repeated
recommendations from the Defense Department,
especially the Northern Command, citing the unique
strategic location and military value of Brunswick,
not to mention the common recognition of the
excellence of the men and women who have served
there.
I
agree with Commissioner Coyle, who voted against
closing Brunswick, when he said that “it makes no
sense” for the Commission to say, on the one hand,
that the Navy will continue to need access to an air
base in the Northeast, but then go on to vote to
close Brunswick – the last remaining air base in the
Northeast. And I agree with Defense Department when
it said that Brunswick provides this nation with
irreplaceable military value in our post-9-11
environment. To be sure, we face new, emerging
threats, and they include the potential for
terrorists to use the North Atlantic shipping lanes
to smuggle weapons of mass destruction into our
harbors and ports.
Nonetheless, starting today, we move forward with
the same sustained urgency and tenacity that we have
brought all along to this process. In addition to
supporting any legislative effort to disapprove of
this recommendation, I will work to seize each and
every opportunity available for economic
redevelopment.
I
will work closely to support the local and state
partnership to help lead the economic redevelopment
of this region. I will also work closely with my
colleagues to support the newly created all-star
team of economic leaders that the Governor is
rightly assembling in the Office of Economic
Redevelopment to plan for comprehensive and
effective recovery for each region.
Just
as I did for the Loring closure, I will introduce
legislation that requires the federal government to
give us free of charge the land at Brunswick that
DoD is abandoning, rather than forcing our hard hit
communities to pay fair market value for it. In
addition, I will ensure that the new “HUBZones” I
worked to create last year are fully utilized. As
Chair of the Small Business Committee, I
successfully wrote legislation that included
designating any area subject to the BRAC process as
a HUBZone area for a period of five year, an
important avenue for assistance.
Finally, I will work with every federal agency, such
as the Office of Economic Adjustment within the DoD
and the Economic Development Administration, which
has provided grants in past BRAC rounds for such
items as planning and technical assistance,
infrastructure improvement, and revolving loan funds
for private business development. Wherever I find
that these existing federal programs are
insufficient, my colleagues and I will look to
bolster them through the legislative process.
As we
begin to shift from battling base closure to winning
economic recovery, let me be clear: we will make
sure that the government honors each and every
commitment it has made to communities like ours –
every last resource will be identified and brought
to bear to repair our state. This difficult
decision affects all of us – we are in this together
and so we will work together tirelessly to leave no
option unexplored for the men and women of these
facilities and communities that have contributed so
much to America.
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