Bush sends base-closing list to Congress with his approval

President Bush Thursday sent the military base-closure list to Congress, barely a week after receiving the extensive report from the independent commission charged with evaluating the Pentagon's recommended cuts in domestic defense facilities.

By forwarding the list to lawmakers, Bush formally approved recommendations to close 22 major facilities and realign 33 others, a significant decrease both in numbers of affected installations and dollars saved from Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's original list released in May.

"I certify that I approve all the recommendations contained in the commission's report," Bush wrote. Under base-closure law, the president had until Sept. 23 to decide whether to send the list back to the panel with additional instructions or forward it to Congress.

The fate of this round of base closures -- the first in 10 years -- now lies in the hands of lawmakers, some of whom have spent the last four months fighting to save installations in their states.

Congress has 45 days to pass a joint resolution to reject the list -- an unprecedented action that is not expected this time around.

"Time stamp today, count 45 days and the alarm bell rings," said Dan Else, a military specialist at the Congressional Research Service.

Paul Hirsch, a staffer on the 1991 commission and a base-closure consultant, said he does not expect Congress to spend much time on the issue, in light of a hectic fall schedule. "I think there will be some debate in the Senate about it, but I don't think there will be a lot," Hirsch said.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., stood out as an early base-closure opponent when the Pentagon included his state's Ellsworth Air Force Base on its list. Some sources said they expected him to step aside and let others take up the battle when the commission saved Ellsworth in late August, but the freshman senator still voiced mild opposition Thursday.

"I applaud President Bush for approving the BRAC recommendations," he said in a statement. "Although I still believe we should not be closing U.S. military facilities while at war, I commend the ... commission for taking an independent and objective approach."

A spokesman for Thune said the senator has not yet decided whether to go forward with an amendment to the stalled fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill that would delay base closures for several years -- at least until most troops return from Iraq and the Pentagon completes several major reviews of strategy and military capabilities.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., said earlier this week he was considering waiting until the president approved the commission's report before resuming debate on the defense bill, which was pulled from the floor in late July.

"Beginning today, I will ... work with Senate leadership on a timetable for bringing up the annual defense authorization bill for Senate consideration, as this is a must-pass bill to support our military in wartime," Warner said in a statement Thursday.

Since the BRAC list went to the president Sept. 8, a lingering lawsuit by Connecticut officials regarding their state's Air National Guard has been resolved. This allows the government to move forward with the commission's recommendation to remove the A-10 attack planes from the Bradley International Airport Air Guard Station near Hartford.

The commission had sent the list to the president with a note stating he could not implement its Connecticut Air National Guard decision unless a temporary injunction issued last week by a federal district court judge was lifted. On Sept. 9, an appellate court granted a stay on the district court's injunction, saying state officials went to court prematurely to reverse a decision that has not yet become law. "Since no final action has yet taken place, the harm alleged by [Connecticut] has not occurred," the court said.

Other lawsuits filed by governors attempting to prevent Air National Guard units in Tennessee, Illinois and Missouri from losing their aircraft have all been rejected. Washington Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire filed a similar suit last week that remains unresolved.

The New Jersey delegation to Congress took its case to save the Fort Monmouth Army base all the way to the Supreme Court, but lost when the high court agreed with an appellate court's decision that it did not have jurisdiction over the matter.