Political Quotes

“I rise today to introduce legislation with my colleague, Senator Collins, to authorize the Department of Defense to carry out a pilot program to sell certain products at commissaries that serve areas with military installations that have been adversely affected by a Base Closure and Realignment, BRAC, round. It is my fervent hope that this legislation will provide the Department of Defense with a means of reducing the operating costs of the commissary in Topsham, Maine sufficiently that they are able to keep a commissary in the area open for many years after the disestablishment of Naval Air Station, NAS, Brunswick. As my colleagues know, the 2005 BRAC round ordered the closure of NAS Brunswick, Maine. That base, which once employed nearly 5,000 personnel in the region, will be officially disestablished on May 31, 2011. With the closure of NAS Brunswick, some in the Department of Defense have argued that the nearby commissary in Topsham, Maine, should also be closed. However, even after the closure of NAS Brunswick, nearly 1,500 active duty, Guard, and Reserve service members remain within a 20 mile drive of the installation, including more than 300 active duty personnel who support the Navy's Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair just down the road in Bath, Maine. In addition, almost 9,000 military retirees and their dependents live in the immediate area, with many thousands more living within an hour's drive.…”