House Panel OKs Closing 34 Military Installations

The House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday approved an independent commission’s proposal to close 34 military installations and realign 48 others.

The House panel’s 44-8 vote rejected complaints by several members that the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission had unfairly targeted some bases.

The issue will be considered by the full House on Tuesday. The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to act on the commission’s report by Friday.

In a related development, a federal judge in Philadelphia set a Sept. 30 hearing on a lawsuit to stop the government from closing the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, one of several major installations on the shutdown list. The suit was filed by members of Congress from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter ordered the Navy to hand over thousands of documents related to the proposed closing of the shipyard.

The suit, filed earlier this month, charges that the Navy withheld from the commission information that would support the shipyard’s retention.

Plaintiffs have said that, if the suit succeeds, it could upset the proposed closing of seven other Navy installations.

Buckwalter issued the order despite arguments by lawyers for the government that the courts should not intervene before Congress acts on the commission’s recommendations to close the shipyard.

Congress has 45 legislative days from July 10 to either approve the list without modification or reject it entirely. It already has President Bush’s approval.

The commission was charged with closing bases to accommodate the declining Pentagon budget, which is expected to shrink 25% over the next five years.