Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and ranking
member Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., are calling for the
full release of documents that informed the recently
announced round of base realignment and closures, and
said what has been released so far is “insufficient.”
In a May 27 letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
the senators complained that DoDs failure to release
supporting BRAC information had compromised the process.
DoD turned over some classified materials at the senators’
prompting, but on June 2 the they said they had not
received everything they requested – such as emails,
emos, and handwritten notes – and said most of the
materials they did get are only available in classified
form and cannot be used in public hearings, public
meetings, or meetings not held in a classified facility
by people with security clearances.
They argue the documents are needed to challenge the
BRAC schedule which includes major cuts to each of the
senators states – the Navy’s submarine base in New
London, Conn., 8,460 jobs including contractors, and
the Naval shipyard in Portsmouth, Maine, 4,233 jobs.
“While these documents are currently undergoing review,
we have no indication thus far, that they satisfy our
request. Once the review of these documents is
completed, we will determine whether a subpoena is
necessary,” the senators said.
Acting Deputy Secretary Gordon England responded to the
senators’ letter on behalf of Rumsfeld by outlining the
documents that Defense has made available to Congress
and those with security clearances, but the senators
said the response does not address the specific
materials they requested “relating to the possible
consideration of factors not authorized by the BRAC
statute.”
