mr. chairman , i appreciate the gentleman 's courtesy in permitting me to speak against this resolution . 
i understand the frustrations that have been expressed by some of our colleagues here on the floor about the brac safety valve . 
i understand their frustration . 
we were in the crosshairs in my community , and some of the issues that were raised earlier about the friction within the pentagon , the inability to appropriately focus on the value of the air guard and there were some other issues that were at work here . 
i think this process is helping . 
i appreciate the debate here on the floor . 
i hope that we are able to further clarify the role that the guard , especially the air guard and ready reserve , play as opposed to the pentagon . 
the brac process in our case allowed us to make the case . 
we pulled together as a community . 
we were able to document that the transfer of the air guard actually would end up costing the taxpayer money , and we were able to demonstrate that it would leave a whole sector of the northwest united states vulnerable , taking away critical air support that has loomed larger as we deal with the role of homeland security in our national defense . 
i would hope that our friends on the armed services committee would focus on adjustments that may need to be made to the brac process to allow a higher priority attached to homeland security in these decisions in the future . 
it was not as clear when the brac legislation was enacted almost 20 years ago . 
i think things have shifted . 
i think it is time to readjust it . 
i would also hope that this would be an opportunity for us to focus on what we are leaving communities with after the bases are closed . 
i have come to the floor pleading for more support from appropriations and more attention from the armed services committee to unexploded ordnance and military toxins . 
the problem we are facing right now , after the 1988 brac process , we still have a dozen communities where they have not finished cleaning up those bases . 
indeed , the mather air force base in california , in sacramento , closed in 1988 . 
the cleanup is not going to be completed until 2072 . 
that is not fair to communities where bases are closed . 
while i support the brac process , i oppose the resolution . 
i think , in the main , brac has worked . 
i hope we are able to clarify the role of the guard and the ready reserve as it relates to national security . 
i do hope this is a wake-up call to what we are leaving communities with , and we can accelerate the cleanup process . 
