Va. lawmakers push back at Pentagon to save military facility

SUFFOLK, VA. — Four House lawmakers pushed back at the Pentagon Wednesday in an effort to save a military facility that Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants closed.

Virginia Reps. Randy Forbes (R), Glenn Nye (D), Robert “Bobby” Scott (D) and Rob Wittman (R) held a summit with local leaders in a bipartisan effort to keep the Joint Forces Command Center (JFCOM) in Norfolk, Va., open. Gates recently announced the closure of JFCOM when he unveiled planned cuts to various Department of Defense (DoD) programs.

{mosads}The legislators have been supported by Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell (R), who sent letters earlier this week to President Obama and to Gates. McDonnell pointed out that “approximately 10,000 jobs” could be lost in Hampton Roads as a result of JFCOM closing.

Forbes and Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) have argued the administration may have skirted the law by not following the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission process.

“If you look at this law we don’t see how in the world you can shut down a facility … without complying with that law,'” Forbes said. 

An Aug. 13 letter to Gates, signed by the four House members and Sens. Webb and Mark Warner (D-Va.), stated that “any recommendation to close JFCOM should only be made as part of a BRAC (Base Closure and Realignment) or 10 USC 2687 process.”

That provision, the lawmakers state, “was established to ensure that Congress has sufficient time and opportunity to review DoD proposals that would result in the closure or realignment of significant military facilities. It also includes requirements intended to ensure that such decisions are made only after a comprehensive review of costs, impacts, and alternatives.”

“When the process is wrong the result can be wrong as well,” Forbes said Wednesday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) praised Gates when he announced his spending reductions earlier this month.

Pelosi said, “He took a hard look at the Defense Department’s budget and made tough decisions to cut expenses and freeze spending. He ensured that his fiscal proposals would give our service members everything they need to succeed in combat. … I commend Secretary Gates for taking steps toward greater fiscal restraint in the Defense Department.”

In his letter to Obama, McDonnell wrote that “the proposal by the Department of Defense is a significant base realignment and closure action that must be treated as such. The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) legislation has been established by Congress to ensure that sufficient time and opportunity is available for review of such proposals in an open and transparent manner.”

“We have to slow this process down. Whatever we have to do,” Forbes said. “The Secretary has refused to inform Congress on a number of issues and other plans. Not a hint of this closure was in the QDR (Quadrennial Defense Review), which was only six months ago.”

The members were particularly unhappy with the lack of information and communication from the Pentagon.

Forbes referenced a gag order issued by the Defense secretary prohibiting Pentagon employees from communicating with members of Congress regarding changes in policy and cuts.

Echoing the feelings of his three other colleagues, Nye, whose district is home to JFCOM, said, “The process here is unacceptable. Not one page of analysis or planning to support the proposal. Congress has an important role in this issue.”

Nye is a GOP target this fall.

In April, the Virginia delegation was stunned by the Pentagon’s plan to move an aircraft carrier from the Norfolk naval base to Mayport, Fla. That move is now said to be years away.

Webb has contacted Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) for a hearing on the matter. Forbes indicated that House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) has also been contacted to hold a hearing when Congress returns in September. Forbes, Nye and Wittman are members of House Armed Services Committee.