Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2016
Floor Speech
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Mr. GUINTA. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer my amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill to prevent any funds from being used to conduct a new round of military base closures through a process known as Base Realignment and Closure, also known as BRAC.
While President Obama continues to discuss the possibility of another round of BRAC as a way to reduce defense spending, we know all too well the negative impacts closing military bases have on our communities, States, national security, and military preparedness.
For more than 200 years, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has provided thousands of Granite Staters with jobs and contributed millions in revenue and military equipment for the United States Navy.
Today, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has roughly 100 naval officers and enlisted personnel assigned to the facility. In addition, the shipyard employs roughly 4,700 civilian employees and offers an active apprentice and engineer recruitment program in the communities surrounding the facility. This base is more than just helpful to our local economy and our military readiness. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is absolutely essential to New Hampshire. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is one of only four shipyards remaining in the country. Each of these facilities has a mission to overhaul, repair, and modernize our Nation's submarine fleet. These services are vital toward maintaining fleet readiness.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this amendment to show our unwavering support for our men and women in arms.
I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. GUINTA. Mr. Chairman, I certainly appreciate the gentleman's concerns. While I certainly hope that there is no BRAC round, there are concerns expressed by Members relative to the President's comments in this area as a method of reducing defense spending.
We have gone through sequestration. I have seen firsthand the concerns expressed by the civilian employees at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. They are the best and the brightest in the business, and I feel very strongly that this is important to New Hampshire and important to the defense of our Nation.
I certainly share the concern and welcome the opportunity to look at the Department of Defense to try to find efficiencies and effectiveness to make sure that our men and women are properly prepared, but I feel that a BRAC realignment would be inappropriate at this time. I hope that Members would support this amendment.
I thank Chairman Frelinghuysen and the rest of the committee for their hard work on this legislation.
I yield back the balance of my time.
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