LOCAL LEADERS OUT TO KEEP BASE IN L.A. POWERFUL COMMITTEE HEAD PROMISES TO HELP IN HOUSE.

Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - San Fernando Valley business leaders pounded the halls of Capitol Hill on Tuesday for any good news they could find about the fate of Los Angeles Air Force Base in the pending round of military base closures.

They found some in House Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, who said protecting the base near Los Angeles International Airport is one of his top priorities.

But members of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association wrapped up a heavy lobbying day still steeling themselves for the worst when the Pentagon releases its list of bases slated for closure or reduction next week.

``I think Los Angeles Air Force Base is in grave danger of being on that list,'' said John Anderson, VICA's point person on base closures.

Separate lobbying trips by members of VICA and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors came as the nine-member Base Realignment and Closure Commission held its first public meeting. That BRAC session was followed by closed briefings from intelligence officials and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs.

In seeking to cut back or consolidate up to 25 percent of installations and save as much as $7 billion, the Pentagon is considering closing Los Angeles AFB and shifting its work to Colorado or New Mexico.

Opponents say the move would threaten 50,000 jobs in Los Angeles County, end several national security programs and spark a massive military brain drain.

Noting that California lost half its military installations in the last round of base closures, VICA Chairman Martin Cooper said protecting bases now is ``one of the cases where the California delegation is pretty well in sync with one another.''

Anderson said he hopes the unity holds after the Pentagon releases its list. If it contains more than one California base, he warned, the harmony could easily dissolve.

The BRAC commissioners will have until Sept. 23 to review the Pentagon's choices. The commission will then forward its own list to the president, who has until Oct. 20 to endorse the entire list or return it to the commission for review.

Within 45 days of the president's approval, Congress has the right to object to the list. If Congress takes no action, the closings will be final.

VICA officials also attended a White House briefing on Social Security, and they met with lobbyists for the city of Los Angeles and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to discuss homeland-security funding and highway spending.

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Los Angeles, told the group not to expect a federal windfall for the 405/101 interchange in a transportation spending bill soon hitting the Senate.

The freeway interchange, one of the most congested in the U.S., may get some federal funding, but not the $2 billion to $3 billion that advocates say the interchange would need.

Instead, he said, Congress is more likely to fund the Alameda Corridor East project to improve rail lines between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and Pomona. Supporters are seeking $900 million, and Sherman said if it comes down to a competition between the two projects, the Alameda Corridor East will win.

Lisa Friedman, [phone]

lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com