US House approves delay in military base closings

The US House of Representatives on Thursday approved a two-year delay of a Pentagon plan for a new round of military base closings, triggering a renewed veto threat from the White House.

The House voted 259-162 to reject an amendment on the scheduled military base closings before it voted 391-34 to pass the defense authorization bill for the 2005 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.

The White House swiftly responded by issuing a statement repeating its threat that the Pentagon would recommend President George W. Bush veto any bill that "weakens, delays or repeals" thebase closing authority.

The Pentagon has said the plan would save tens of billions of dollars by eliminating excess military capacity. But some lawmakers object the plan, as they did in four previous rounds of base closings starting from 1988, out of concern that potential closings would hit the economy in those communities near the bases.

They said the new round of planned base closings was especially ill-timed as the United States is fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It sends the wrong message to our men and women in uniform to close bases at a time when we are at war," said Representative Jo Ann Davis, a Virginia Republican.

The authorization bill, to which the amendment on base closingswas attached, authorized 422 billion dollars for defense programs for next year and provided 25 billion dollars to pay for the Iraqiand Afghanistan wars.

The total amount authorized for defense programs represents a 5-percent increase over the already record-breaking amount for the current budget year. The bill includes an across-the-board 3.5 percent pay raise for military personnel and contains money for the production of improved combat vehicles like heavy armored Humvees widely used in the Iraqi war.

The Senate, also debating its version of the authorization bill,on Tuesday defeated by 49-47 an amendment to delay the base closings. The two versions of the authorization bill need to be reconciled before the final legislation is sent to Bush for his signing.

Source: Xinhua