BILL AIMS TO BEEF UP BASES FOES SAY PLAN GUTS ENVIRONMENTAL RULES.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer PALMDALE - Two Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee The term Armed Services Committee could refer to:
With a round of base closures looming looming: see mirage. in 2005, the House Armed Services Committee has called for the next base closure commission to spare enough bases to accommodate a larger military in the future if world circumstances require it. ``We want to make sure we have enough bases available in this country so that if we have to mobilize mo·bi·lize v. 1. To make mobile or capable of movement. 2. To restore the power of motion to a joint. 3. To release into the body, as glycogen from the liver. and surge our force structure beyond what it is right now - and it's very small right now - that we have bases,'' said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, the committee chairman. ``It's going to be impossible to retrieve them once they are closed.'' The House's version of the 2004 defense authorization bill, crafted by Hunter's committee, contains provisions easing environmental restrictions on military training and specifying requirements for military bases to be able to accommodate more troops, planes and ships. Hunter and Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, whose district includes part of the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley , spoke about the provisions during a visit to Palmdale last week for a GOP dinner. The base retention provisions have not aroused great controversy, but environmentalists have denounced the proposed environmental exemptions as unnecessary, cynical attempts to use fears of terrorism to roll back protections for wildlife. Opponents say the exemptions are unnecessary because existing law allows the Defense Department to seek exemptions for its activities for national security reasons. The Defense Department has asked only once for such an exemption. Environmentalists and Democrats are hopeful they can prevail on the environmental issue when House and Senate conferees meet to iron out differences in their bills. The House defense authorization bill must be reconciled with the Senate version, which does not contain any language addressing base closures and greatly limits the proposed environmental exemptions. Using a plan crafted years ago by then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell Noun 1. Colin Powell - United States general who was the first African American to serve as chief of staff; later served as Secretary of State under President George W. Bush (born 1937) Colin luther Powell, Powell , the House committee wants enough bases to allow the Army to grow from 10 divisions today to 12; the Air Force to grow from 13 fighter air wings to 15; and to allow the Navy to grow from 305 ships to more than 400. The House bill would change the Endangered Species Act The federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) (16 U.S.C.A. §§ 1531 et seq.) was enacted to protect animal and plant species from extinction by preserving the ecosystems in which they survive and by providing programs for their conservation. to prohibit further designation of critical habitat on military bases where there is an integrated natural resource management plan. The Defense Department wanted the change to prevent the fragmentation (1) Storing data in non-contiguous areas on disk. As files are updated, new data are stored in available free space, which may not be contiguous. Fragmented files cause extra head movement, slowing disk accesses. A defragger program is used to rewrite and reorder all the files. of testing and training ranges. An integrated natural resource management plan is aimed at protecting the environment while allowing a military base to conduct its mission. ``The Marines have 17 miles of beach at Camp Pendleton, but because of environmental restrictions they can only use 500 yards,'' McKeon said. The Senate had a similar exemption before them, but changed the language on an amendment by Sen. Frank Lautenberg Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (born January 23, 1924) is a businessman and Democratic Party politician. Now the senior United States Senator from New Jersey, he is in his second stint in office, first serving from 1983 to 2001, and again since 2003. , D-N.J., to require the Defense Department to develop high-quality natural-resource management plans. The amendment requires the plans be adequately funded and that they achieve their intended purpose of conserving endangered species endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. . ``This issue is really about balancing national security with our environmental security - and the Pentagon has shown in the past that we can do it,'' Lautenberg said in a statement from his office. Hunter spoke contemptuously con·temp·tu·ous adj. Manifesting or feeling contempt; scornful. con·temp  tu·ous·ly adv. at the Palmdale dinner of the
Senate's version of the environmental exemptions, saying, ``If the
slimy slug is on the beach, they want to close it up.''
Republicans have called the Senate language a mistake and also are optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op they will prevail in conference. Jim Skeen, (661) 267-5743 James.Skeen(at)dailynews.com |
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