John Doolittle: “I have in the past supported the BRAC Commission process, viewing it as a reasonable way to effect the necessary…”

“I have in the past supported the BRAC Commission process, viewing it as a reasonable way to effect the necessary downsizing of excess capacity. As the gentleman from California mentioned, I have been very involved with him, the gentleman from California, the gentleman from California, the gentleman from California, and others from our region in fighting for McClellan Air Force Base. I can tell you that the gentleman from Utah was right last year or the year before when he proposed cutting off the process after the first three rounds. I am sorry that we have gone to the fourth round. The fourth round has disappointed me. The idea that we somehow remove politics from the BRAC process, in my opinion, did not turn out to be the case. In fact, it reminds me of the method for selecting judges advocated by the American Bar Association throughout the country where all they do is shift the politics from the more open forum of the Governor, et cetera, and move it back behind closed doors where intense logrolling and politicking is going on. We should have had cross-servicing. That would have saved McClellan Air Force Base. It is a modern base capable of doing the job. But, no, despite the fact that every major panel has recommended cross-servicing, we do not have it. It is not part of our defense policy. It is a tragedy, Mr. Speaker. We should pass this resolution. We should go back to the drawing boards.”