Official Defends McClellan Closure : Bases: But head of panel recommending the action says members will keep an open mind to any revisions Clinton suggests.

The chairman of the federal base-closing commission on Friday staunchly defended the decision to close McClellan Air Force Base near Sacramento but suggested that the panel might reconsider its actions if President Clinton returns the report for revision.

“If he makes suggestions and sends the report back here, we’ll consider it . . . I promise you,” said commission Chairman Alan J. Dixon. “I don’t say we’ve written this thing so that you can’t make some changes.”

But on the need to close McClellan and another maintenance center in Texas--the most controversial actions the commission took--”I don’t think there’s much question about it,” Dixon said.

California members of Congress and state and local officials have called on Clinton to throw out this round of base closures, maintaining that they unfairly affect the state, still coping with the effects of 22 major base closures in earlier rounds.

The commission said that if the report is approved, the state would lose more than 42,000 jobs directly and indirectly--nearly 10,000 more than Texas, its nearest rival for that dubious distinction.

The consequences for the President’s reelection campaign are enormous. If he approves the panel’s report and California loses thousands more jobs, voters will take it out on Clinton, his advisers say. And without California’s 54 electoral votes, Clinton’s reelection is virtually impossible.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), leading a gathering of angry local officials in San Francisco, sent a telegram to Clinton saying: “The ball is in your court. Help California. Reject the base closure list.”

Gov. Pete Wilson also added his words of criticism Friday. “The commission’s recommendations simply go too far,” he wrote the President. “They go beyond trimming the fat, cutting into the very muscle and bone of our military forces.”

But the Administration was also feeling pressure to pass the report quickly along to Congress, where it almost certainly will be approved as a needed cost-saving measure for the military.

“Rejection of the commission’s recommendations for overt political reasons will raise serious questions about the integrity of the entire process,” House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Tex.) and House National Security Committee Chairman Floyd Spence (R-S.C.) wrote to Clinton.

Sens. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) and Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote a similar letter, arguing that “future modernization comes from the expected savings from base closures.”

The commission recommended the closure of 79 military bases and the realignment of 26 others, to save the Defense Department nearly $20 billion over 20 years.

“This is a prudent and sensible list, arrived at openly and fairly. We are proud of our work,” Dixon said. The list goes officially to Clinton tomorrow.

The other major closures in California are the Long Beach Naval Shipyard and the Oakland Army base, although about 20 installations were affected. Many of the decisions on California bases had minimal economic effects, and some bases gained jobs.

But since 1988, the state has lost more than 200,000 jobs and $7 billion in annual economic activity.

Dixon, a former U.S. senator from Illinois, said that this was the first time in three rounds that a base-closing commission has achieved greater savings than had been recommended by the Department of Defense.

The Pentagon closure plan would have resulted in $18.9 billion in savings, while the commission’s plan would add up to $19.3 billion.

*

Clearly prepared for questions about McClellan and the impact on California, Dixon told a packed press conference at the Capitol that California was tied for third with three other states in percentage of jobs lost through the proposed cutbacks.

“The suggestion that California suffered the most is untrue,” Dixon said.

The Pacific island of Guam was hardest hit by the panel’s recommendations, with 7.9% of its jobs lost, and Alabama and Alaska were tied for second in terms of economic impact at 0.4%.

California was tied for third with Texas, Connecticut and North Dakota at 0.3%.

Meanwhile, the White House denied a report that it has already decided to send the report back to the commission for revision.

The report, which appeared in the Washington Times on Friday morning, “is flat-out wrong,” according to a White House official. The President has concerns about the recommendations and wants to study them thoroughly, the official said, but no White House decision is expected for four or five days.

Clinton has asked Defense Secretary William J. Perry to review the commission’s actions and will base his decision largely on the Pentagon’s conclusions.

Perry was due to arrive back in Washington on Friday night from an overseas trip, and Pentagon officials said the analysis probably will not be completed until early next week.

The Pentagon is particularly displeased with the commission’s decision to close McClellan and Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, two of the Air Force’s five air logistics centers. The service wanted to keep all five open while consolidating redundant functions through a complicated downsizing strategy.

Dixon said the commission staff spent four months going over the Air Force data.

“We found they overstated costs and understated savings,” he said.

Dixon was cautious when repeatedly pressed by questioners over how he would react to a hypothetical ultimatum from the White House to restore one or both of the air logistics centers:

“I don’t want to speculate about what the President will do or how I will vote. I say there’s room for further review for all of this. Basically, we have done the right thing. I am not in a confrontational mode. I like the President and the Administration fine. I didn’t do anything here to embarrass anybody . . . so help me, God, I believe I have done what is right.”

Dixon’s panel, known as the Defense Base Closing and Realignment Commission, also recommended that another base-closing round be held in 2001.

Clinton has until July 15 to accept or send back the current list. If Clinton accepts it, the list becomes final unless Congress votes it down in 45 days. If Clinton rejects it, the commission would have until Aug. 15 to make revisions or resubmit it without change. The President could then accept the list or reject it entirely, resulting in no bases being closed.

Times staff writers John M. Broder and Art Pine in Washington contributed to this story.