DoD Recommendations

CONGRESSWOMAN BROWN PLEASED WITH DoD RECOMMENDATIONS BUT STILL OPPOSES PLANS TO CLOSE BASES DURING WARTIME

(Washington, DC) Congresswoman Brown made the following statement:

"I appreciate the Pentagon realizing the value of Florida's military facilities. We have assets in this state that can't be found anywhere else, and the additional resources will allow Florida to continue to support and improve the military readiness of the nation.

However, I am concerned about the effect base closings will have on the families of those service members who are deployed overseas. I have been approached by many service men and women who fear what will happen to their families and their homes if their base is closed.

I wholeheartedly believe that closing bases right in the middle of a war is a horrifying message to send to our troops and our adversaries. Clearly, it is most imprudent to shut down military bases when they may be needed for homeland security. Moreover, at a time when our economy is still struggling to recover from high unemployment and slowly rising inflation, closing bases and taking away jobs from hard working military families is not the message we want to be sending to our fighting forces, particularly now, when morale is already low. As far as I am concerned, there should never have been any discussion about base closure in the first place, as this action is simply devastating to the surrounding communities, both financially and emotionally.

I intend to make my concerns clear to the Administration and Congressional leaders, and to ensure the decisions being made are best for the country and the men and women who serve."

http://www.house.gov/corrinebrown/press109/pr050513.htm