Earl Blumenauer: “one reason there is so much opposition to the BRAC base closing process is that people do not know what they are going…”

“one reason there is so much opposition to the BRAC base closing process is that people do not know what they are going to get stuck with when their base closes. Seventeen bases from the 1988 round are still contaminated and have not been transferred back to the benefit of local communities. Over 140,000 acres on closed or realigned bases have not been cleaned up. I am offering an amendment to the defense authorization legislation tomorrow that would delay the implementation of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure round until the Secretary of Defense submits a strategy including an estimate of the amount of funds necessary to complete unexploded ordinance clean up and environmental remediation of the bases closed during the 1988 round. Not trying to stop the BRAC, just getting plans in place that are 17 years overdue. At a time when we are asking communities to bear the trauma of the BRAC process, it is unacceptable that we have not finished cleaning up the first round. ____________________”