Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
chairman Susan Collins, R-Maine, and ranking member Joe
Lieberman, D-Conn., have subpoenaed the Department of
Defense for documents related to the latest base
realignment and closure schedule.
On May 27 they sent a letter to Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld complaining that the Department has not made
materials available – as required by federal law – to
those affected by the BRAC round needed to make a case to
protect their interests.
They said DoD turned over some classified materials but
not everything requested – such as emails, memos, and
handwritten notes – and said many materials are only
available in classified form and cannot be used in public
hearings and meetings. They called what has been released
so far “insufficient,” including additional materials
released the weekend of June 4-5.
“The law is clear about the department’s obligations,
and further foot-dragging cannot be tolerated,” the
senators said on June 7 after issuing their subpoena.
Field hearings in Missouri and Utah have been postponed
due to the lack of available documents, the senators said,
noting that other hearings are scheduled in Alaska and
New England — where their constituents stand to lose
jobs at 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 we were hopeful that this release of information
was a sign that the department is finally complying with
our request as well as federal law, the reality is that
BRAC field hearings are quickly approaching,” the
senators said. On May 13 Rumsfeld forwarded DoD’s
recommendations to the BRAC commission, which will then
forward its report on the recommendations to the
president by September 8.
The president will have until September 23, to accept
or reject the recommendations in their entirety, and if
accepted, Congress would have 45 legislative days to
fully reject all recommendations or they become binding.
