VIENNA AIR STATION Congress kills plan to delay closing of military bases

The bill includes $954,000 to design housing at the air base in Trumbull County.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A plan to delay closing national military bases by two years died in Congress on Saturday.
Supporters of saving the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna had prepared for the base-closure process to move ahead next year instead of 2007, and they plan to continue working to prove the local base should remain open. The local base employs more than 2,400 people.
A Washington, D.C., company hired for $45,000 by Operation Save Our Airbase Reservists, a local group working to keep the base open, said the facility has many positive attributes that should keep it relatively safe from being on the closure list.
The decision not to delay the Base Realignment and Closure process was included in the $477 billion Department of Defense authorization bill. The U.S. House overwhelmingly approved the bill Saturday. It isn't clear when the Senate will approve the legislation, but it's expected soon.
The House wanted to delay the implementation of the BRAC process from 2005 to 2007, but the Senate opposed it. Also, the Bush administration threatened to veto any legislation to delay the process.
A House-Senate conference committee opted to side with the Senate's position to not delay the process.
The Pentagon wants to eliminate about one-quarter of the nation's 425 or so military bases. The list of bases to be closed will be released next year.
The only chance to delay the process now is if U.S. Sen. John Kerry defeats President Bush in next month's election. Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, told The Vindicator last week that he wants to postpone the base-closing process.
Housing funds
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, was able to get $954,000 in the authorization bill for the Vienna base to plan and design housing facilities for reservists. One of the local base's weaknesses is its lack of housing for reservists.
The money will go toward planning and designing a 131-room lodging facility for reservists. The base needs $10 million to build the facility.
The more money invested in the local base, the better chance it has of staying off the closure list, said Ryan, D-17th.
"The fact that the Senate and the Bush administration didn't support a delay doesn't change our strategy for keeping the Youngstown Air Reserve Station open," he said. "I'll continue to work with both Republicans and Democrats in Congress to bring home even more federal funds to invest in our base."
The authorization bill also includes a 3.5 percent pay raise for members of the armed forces, expanded health care for reservists, as well as $25 billion for operational costs for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The bill provides additional funds to protect military personnel overseas, including money for body armor, armored humvees, and reimbursements for those who bought body armor and other protection equipment for family members serving in the military, Ryan said.