Legislators Make Final Plea to Keep Bases Open : Military: California officials tell panel that the state has suffered disproportionate losses in earlier cutbacks.

Seizing a final opportunity to plead for thousands of jobs jeopardized by proposals to close military bases, a California congressional delegation urged an independent panel on Monday to spare the already hard-hit state from further economic hardship.

A parade of 17 elected California officials told the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission that the state has suffered a disproportionate share of job losses from two earlier rounds of defense cutbacks.

They argued that military studies attempting to justify the proposed California base closings were riddled with inaccuracies and omissions.

While Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer joined with other legislators in a unified effort to avoid future base closings statewide, some individual House members, in attempts to protect threatened military installations within their own districts, began attacking other California bases.

California currently has 15 facilities on the list of bases that the citizens panel is considering either for closure or major cutbacks. These include the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, March Air Force Base in Riverside County, and the Miramar Naval Air Station and the Naval Training Center in San Diego. The fate of the Marine base at Tustin, targeted for closure by the commission in 1991, is also up in the air.

In all, the proposed base closures and realignments would do away with 78,302 military and civilian jobs in California.

Monday was the first of three days of hearings where members of Congress from 38 states, the District of Columbia and Guam are being given one last opportunity to make their best cases against closures before the commission decides which bases to shut down. The panel must forward its recommendations to President Clinton by July 1.

The first Californian to speak was Feinstein, who said that if all of the targeted California bases were closed, the state would sustain as much as 55% of all Defense Department personnel cuts since 1988, even though it has only 15% of Pentagon jobs.

“California can’t take any more base closure hits,” Feinstein said. “We have done our fair share. This round of base closures, as it now stands, is simply unfair to California.”

Other state lawmakers took turns lobbying on behalf of targeted bases in their respective districts.

Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) cited new military figures showing it would cost $1.25 billion to move the Third Marine Corps Air Wing from El Toro to Miramar, which the Pentagon has priced at $340 million. “That would be a travesty for taxpayers and our already-strapped defense budget,” Cox said.

Cox also testified that El Toro has more than 2,000 acres of undeveloped land available for expansion, while new construction at Miramar is “virtually impossible” because the areas surrounding the runways are environmentally sensitive.

Part of the cost of moving Orange County Marines to Miramar includes $420 million in new housing construction that the Pentagon did not anticipate, and up to $30 million a year in subsidies for civilian housing, said Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove). By 1996, Dornan said, El Toro and Tustin could provide 70% of necessary housing for Marine families, while Miramar could provide only 41%.

“What is best for military readiness, and the quality of life of these Marines?” Dornan asked the panel. “Please keep these concerns first and foremost in your minds when making your final decisions.”

Rep. Steve Horn (R-Long Beach) told the panel that the Long Beach Naval Shipyard should remain open because it was rated the nation’s third-most militarily valuable shipyard, and has the only dry dock south of Puget Sound that can accommodate a full range of Navy ships.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), who formerly represented Long Beach, urged the commission to “see through” the arguments of those who want to save Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo at Long Beach’s expense. He pointed out that Mare Island was ranked “dead last” in terms of military value.

“Two years ago, Long Beach Naval Shipyard was the target of false charges coming from the desperate supporters of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard,” Rohrabacher said. “This time, the desperate charges are coming from the supporters of Mare Island. . . .”

Base Cleanup Costs

The California Environmental Protection Agency estimates the federal government will need to spend at least $3 billion to clean up toxic waste at the 13 military installations slated to be shut down in the latest round of base closures. These are preliminary estimates based on 1992 data and are expected to increase by as much as 50% when revised later this year.

Base Cost McClellan Air Force Base $1.635 billion Long Beach Naval Shipyard 300 million El Toro Marine Corps Air Station 250 million North Island Naval Aviation Depot 200 million Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow 184 million Miramar Naval Air Station 180 million Alameda Naval Air Station 95 million Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station 75 million Mare Island Naval Shipyard 35 million Oakland Navy Supply Center 20 million Treasure Island Naval Station 15 million Presidio, Monterey Annex/Ft. Ord 6 million San Diego Naval Training Center 5 million Total $3 billion

Source: California Environmental Protection Agency