Welcome to the Business Journal Archives
Search for articles below, or continue to the all new BusinessJournalDaily.com now.
Search
House Committee Votes to Extend Base Closing Timetable
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The community campaign to save the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna Township stands to benefit from an amendment passed yesterday by the U.S. House Armed Services Committee that would postpone the 2005 round of military base closings until 2007. The vote came in the form of an amendment to the 2005 Fiscal Year Defense Authorization Bill. U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio 17, is a member of the Armed Services Committee and voted in favor of the amendment. Ryan is also co-chairman of the Mahoning Valley campaign to spare the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna Township from being closed by the Defense Department."Protecting our air base and all its operations is one of my top priorities," said Ryan. "This extension gives us an additional two years to make the case for why our airbase deserves to stay open. This is a significant victory that I hope to build upon and will work with Senators Voinovich and DeWine and my House colleagues to make sure this provision remains in the final bill."The amendment passed by the committee is included in the House version of the Defense Authorization Bill that is expected to be taken up by the full House by the end of next week, Ryan said. The House bill then will be reconciled with the Senate version during the House-Senate Conference Committee.The Youngstown Air Reserve Station is one of the area's five largest employers and, along with the Navy and Marine reserve operations located there, contributes $100 million into the local economy, Ryan noted. The base is home to 1,400 reservists and 400 Air Reserve technician and civilian employees who work full-time at the facility. More than 500 reservists are currently deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom.The community campaign to keep the base open, known as SOAR -- Operation: Save Our Airbase Reservists -- has retained a Virginia consulting firm to study the base's strengths and weaknesses and make recommendations on improvements. All U.S. military bases around the country are under review as part of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). The conventional wisdom holds that 25% of the military and naval bases will be closed after the next BRAC round. The current timetable, which would be extended by two years if the amendment passes both houses of Congress, calls for BRAC to submit its base-closing list to the president by Sept. 8, 2005. By November 2005 at the latest, the president must then recommend the realignments -- all or nothing -- to Congress, which would have 45 legislative days to act. "