Olympia Snowe: “I rise to speak in support of a bill that I am cosponsoring today with my colleague from Maine, Senator Collins, that…”

“I rise to speak in support of a bill that I am cosponsoring today with my colleague from Maine, Senator Collins, that will ensure that the Small Business Administration's, SBA, Historically Underutilized Business Zone, HUBZone, program will support the many communities around this Nation that have been negatively impacted by base closures. Over the course of my career, my state has experienced two major base closures--Loring Air Force Base was closed by the 1991 BRAC round and Brunswick Naval Air Station was closed by the 2005 BRAC round. Like every community around the Nation that has experienced a base closure, Brunswick and Loring have fought tirelessly to replace the jobs and economic impact of their military installations. Unfortunately, theirs is an exceptionally difficult task. Consider, for instance, that the closure of Brunswick Naval Air Station directly eliminated nearly 3,300 military and federal civilian jobs, and indirectly caused the loss of approximately 3,800 additional jobs from the region. Overcoming the effects of such dramatic changes in a local employment and economic market is, without question, a long-term challenge that is made even more difficult in a period of prolonged economic recession.…”