mr. chairman , i rise in reluctant support of the resolution to reject the recommendations of the base closure and realignment commission . 
i support the brac process and believe that over the years it has led to the orderly reorganization of our nation 's defense infrastructure . 
i believe the pentagon and the brac commission made a good-faith effort to carefully examine every base . 
nonetheless , i continue to believe the commission made a terribly shortsighted decision when it voted to uphold some of the pentagon 's recommendations for naval base ventura county . 
i am particularly disappointed the commission voted to move some of the rdt & amp ; e missions away from the base . 
in my view , the commission ignored a number of important factors . 
first , the commission 's vote went against the recommendation of its professional staff . 
the staff correctly recognized that naval base ventura county has significant military value , and its missions contribute to the readiness of our war fighter . 
second , relocating the vital functions performed by the personnel at the base will have lasting consequences for our national security . 
the activities conducted at this site for the navy , air force , missile defense agency , and others can not be replicated anywhere else in the nation . 
moreover , the base 's sea range is linked with other inland ranges in california -- providing an unmatched capability to the defense department . 
the realignment will diminish these existing operational capabilities and efficiencies and negatively impact the ability of our fighting men and women to get their jobs done . 
the effect of this would be immediately felt in iraq and afghanistan . 
finally , realigning the base 's missions will waste , not save , taxpayer dollars . 
we can not afford to spend a lot of money to move missions and personnel when there 's no long-term savings involved . 
especially now that we 're looking at spending more than $ 200 billion to help rebuild the gulf coast areas devastated by hurricanes katrina and rita . 
mr. chairman , the brac process must be logical and fair . 
i do not believe this round of closures met those criteria . 
i continue to strongly believe the missions at naval base ventura county are a critical element of our national security system and an important asset to our local community . 
i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the resolution of disapproval . 
