mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. chairman , tonight marks the end of a long and difficult process for selecting military installations for closure and realignment . 
under brac law , the realignment and closure recommendations by the brac 2005 commission will become binding , unless a joint resolution of disapproval , such as the one before us today , is enacted . 
for those of us with military installations in our districts , the brac process is a trying one . 
and i might mention we have had four brac rounds previous to this one . 
every one of us spent the last 4 years making a case to the pentagon and the brac commission with respect to the military value of our bases . 
nevertheless , both dod and the brac commission have determined that a portion of our military infrastructure should be closed or realigned . 
as a result , the final recommendations of the commission include 22 closures that we would designate as major closures , 33 major realignments , and many smaller closure and realignment actions . 
according to the commission , these actions will save more than $ 15 billion over the next two decades with annual savings of more than $ 2.5 billion after implementation . 
some of my colleagues have questioned the need for a round of brac and the timing of this round . 
while i understand and appreciate such concerns , i believe that these issues have been thoroughly discussed and debated . 
in addition , by a vote of 43 to 14 , the armed services committee reported this resolution adversely to the house with a recommendation that it do not pass . 
as such , i intend to vote against house joint resolution 65 today , thereby allowing the brac commission recommendations to stand , and i would urge my colleagues to join me in doing so . 
on a final note , i would like to thank the brac commissioners for their service . 
since their appointments this spring , the commissioners visited more than 170 installations , conducted 20 regional hearings and 20 deliberative hearings , and participated in hundreds of meetings with public officials . 
also , mr. chairman , i would particularly like to thank the chairman of the commission , anthony j. principi . 
tony principi took on another tough one in chairing this brac commission . 
it is a commission in which you get beaten up lots of times , second-guessed a lot , and cross-examined a lot . 
yet , it is a necessary position , and it is one that requires a guy or a lady with a lot of integrity . 
chairman principi is just such a person . 
also , we had on our committee two former members of the armed services committee who were on the brac commission , jim bilbray and jim hansen , and mr. chairman , they have served us well as senior statesmen in again what amounted to very , very difficult roles . 
i would like to acknowledge the good work of all of the commissioners . 
it is not an easy job and it is , to some degree , a very thankless job . 
nonetheless , it is necessary and they put a lot of time and a lot of sweat into this process . 
so i want to thank them . 
mr. chairman , i reserve the balance of my time . 
