Statement by U.S. Senator Mark Dayton on the Pentagon's Military Base Closure Report
The Pentagon's base realignment and closure (BRAC) recommendations process is extremely difficult, but necessary. Looking at the overall picture, Minnesota's military operations were largely spared by the Pentagon's recommendations. Certainly, I don't want to minimize the transfer of jobs and individual hardships that would result from these realignments. However, there would be eight jobs lost in Duluth and 232 jobs lost in Ft. Snelling; considering that there are thousands of reservists in Minnesota, our state fared well.
I am concerned, however, for Grand Forks, East Grand Forks, and surrounding communities, where over 2,600 military and civilian employees would be affected. Next week, I intend to send a letter to BRAC Commission Chairman Anthony Principi to request that one of the 15 regional hearings on the Commission's recommendations be held in Grand Forks.
I will do whatever I can to help those citizens and communities impacted by today's base realignment recommendations.
http://dayton.senate.gov/news/details.cfm?id=237654&&