18 Senators Call for Hearing on Politics Surrounding Base Closure List

Eighteen senators, listed below, wrote the following letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee to investigate the Obama administration on the reports that they are threatening to put the Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska on a future Base Realignment and Closure list. Due to these reports the senators are also worried that Nellis AFB, Fallon NAS, Creech AFB, or Hawthorne Army Depot could be put on these lists in the future.

Senators John Ensign (R-NV), Jim DeMint (R-SC), John Thune (R-SD), Jim Bunning (R-KY), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Richard Burr (R-NC), Bob Corker (R-TN), Kit Bond (R-MO), George LeMieux (R-FL), Pat Roberts (R-KS), David Vitter (R-LA), Thad Cochran (R-MS), John Cornyn (R-TX), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Bob Bennett (R-UT), Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) signed the letter below:

Dear Senator Levin and Senator McCain:

It has been reported that the Obama Administration threatened the closure of a U.S. military installation for political purposes, thereby bringing into question the integrity of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. The BRAC process was established to remove political influence so that the decision to close or not to close a military installation could be based upon military utility.

Specifically, various media reports have stated that the Obama Administration would put Offutt AFB in southeastern Nebraska on a future BRAC list because of a vote on healthcare reform. While we recognize the importance of Offutt AFB as the headquarters of U.S. Strategic Command and the approximately 10,000 individuals that work there, we feel that this installation should remain open or be closed on its own merits.

Therefore, we respectfully ask that a hearing be held as to whether the BRAC process has been compromised. We do not want to see the name of a base from our state on a BRAC list and think it has been put there to settle partisan scores. We also do not want our bases to be more vulnerable to closure because political arm-twisting has taken another installation off the table. National security not partisanship should determine how BRAC decisions are made.