Sessions thinks veto no threat to BRAC

Saturday, April 07, 2007

By SHELBY G. SPIRES

Times Aerospace Writer shelby.spires@htimes.com

Construction funds eventually will be OK'd, senator says

U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions believes the supplemental spending bill that includes billions in federal BRAC construction dollars will pass Congress soon, despite President Bush's threat to veto it because it has a timeline for pulling out of Iraq.

The Mobile Republican told about 1,000 people at a Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce luncheon Friday that the supplemental bill eventually will pass "and that money will come for BRAC construction."

Redstone Arsenal needs about $500 million to accommodate 4,500 jobs expected to come with the Army Materiel Command, Space & Missile Defense Command and Missile Defense Agency, along with the recruiting command and the Army Security Assistance Command, which manages foreign military sales.

The jobs are being transferred to Huntsville under recommendations made by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

The BRAC money was slashed in January by House Democrats after they took power, Sessions said. "The Democrats did this to add $3 billion to social programs, and I'm not surprised. We Republicans have done it this way in the past, too."

But Sessions isn't happy with the supplemental spending approach because it adds to the national debt, he said. "It was in the budget, and I didn't understand what they were doing taking out the money. It was fully paid for in the Pentagon's budget. Why remove it?

"This is BRAC we are talking about. We have to complete it. It's the law."

Included in the spending measure is $9.4 million to build an operations building later this year on Redstone for the Army 2nd Recruiting Brigade scheduled to move here from Fort Gillem near Atlanta.

Sessions said the construction funding switch would not slow the movement of jobs or commands to Redstone. "I'm pretty confident it is on track and will stay on track," he said.

Also slashed from the 2007 budget was $20 million that would have paid for a Software Engineering Directorate building on Redstone. Sessions said President Bush put the money back in his 2008 budget request that is moving through Congress.

In other areas of government, Sessions would like to reform entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security. "Those represent $1.5 trillion in government spending a year, and it is growing at almost 10 percent a year," he said.

Sessions said he is looking forward to reforming immigration standards that govern who can enter America and work or seek citizenship. Entry into America should be based on what skills a person brings "and not based on the interests and needs of a particular business. This has to be done in a manner that supports our national interests."



Sessions thinks veto no threat to BRAC Saturday, April 07, 2007 By SHELBY G. SPIRES Times Aerospace Writer shelby.spires@htimes.com Construction funds eventually will be OK'd, senator says U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions believes the supplemental spending bill that includes billions in federal BRAC construction dollars will pass Congress soon, despite President Bush's threat to veto it because it has a timeline for pulling out of Iraq. The Mobile Republican told about 1,000 people at a Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce luncheon Friday that the supplemental bill eventually will pass "and that money will come for BRAC construction." Redstone Arsenal needs about $500 million to accommodate 4,500 jobs expected to come with the Army Materiel Command, Space & Missile Defense Command and Missile Defense Agency, along with the recruiting command and the Army Security Assistance Command, which manages foreign military sales. The jobs are being transferred to Huntsville under recommendations made by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The BRAC money was slashed in January by House Democrats after they took power, Sessions said. "The Democrats did this to add $3 billion to social programs, and I'm not surprised. We Republicans have done it this way in the past, too." But Sessions isn't happy with the supplemental spending approach because it adds to the national debt, he said. "It was in the budget, and I didn't understand what they were doing taking out the money. It was fully paid for in the Pentagon's budget. Why remove it? "This is BRAC we are talking about. We have to complete it. It's the law." Included in the spending measure is $9.4 million to build an operations building later this year on Redstone for the Army 2nd Recruiting Brigade scheduled to move here from Fort Gillem near Atlanta. Sessions said the construction funding switch would not slow the movement of jobs or commands to Redstone. "I'm pretty confident it is on track and will stay on track," he said. Also slashed from the 2007 budget was $20 million that would have paid for a Software Engineering Directorate building on Redstone. Sessions said President Bush put the money back in his 2008 budget request that is moving through Congress. In other areas of government, Sessions would like to reform entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security. "Those represent $1.5 trillion in government spending a year, and it is growing at almost 10 percent a year," he said. Sessions said he is looking forward to reforming immigration standards that govern who can enter America and work or seek citizenship. Entry into America should be based on what skills a person brings "and not based on the interests and needs of a particular business. This has to be done in a manner that supports our national interests." © 2007 The Huntsville Times © 2007 al.com All Rights Reserved.