Joe Baca: “while I do have concerns with this bill, I rise to voice my support for H.R. 4200, the National Defense Authorization…”

“while I do have concerns with this bill, I rise to voice my support for H.R. 4200, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005. We need to do everything we can to make our armed forces as effective as possible. That's why I support the 2-year delay for the next BRAC round. California has seen 29 bases close. In the Inland Empire, George and Norton Air Force Bases have been closed. And March Air Force Base was reduced to a reserve base. This cost an estimated 37,000 jobs and $3.9 billion in economic activity. That is 39 times the size of the San Bernardino city budget. That's real money that could have helped our citizens. The 22,000 citizens of Barstow are worried that the Nebo Marine Corp Logistics Base and Yermo Annex will close. It is the city's second largest employer. What will happen when it closes? When Norton Air Force Base closed in a previous BRAC round, it devastated my district. We lost 10,000 military and civilian personnel. And thousands more lost their job off the base. We have never been able to replace those jobs. It's not only communities that will be affected. Base closings will affect our troops and their families. It will set the military on a course of instability. All in order to save a few bucks. Our troops in Iraq should not have to worry whether their families will be moved to another city or another state. They have better things to worry about. Because of these reasons I support the suspension of BRAC.”