mr. chairman , today , the house will likely vote not to reject the recommendations of the base realignment and closure commission , moving the brac process one step closer to an end . 
this has been a very difficult brac round for the state of maine . 
when the list came out 5 months ago , all of maine 's three facilities were in great jeopardy , and few believed that we had a chance of saving any of them . 
but the entire delegation , the governor , and the communities came together and presented the best possible arguments in all three cases , and as a result , maine did better than anyone thought we could . 
we saved portsmouth naval shipyard and in a victory that would have been unthinkable only a few months before , we actually grew dfas limestone , bringing jobs to an area that desperately needs them . 
these two actions represent tremendous victories for the people of maine . 
i strongly disagree with the recommendation to close naval air station brunswick . 
it was the wrong decision and i have fought it every step of the way together with the whole maine delegation . 
today 's vote is difficult . 
i deeply believe that naval air station brunswick should not be closed . 
yet , when this process began , maine stood to loose everything , and now we have saved and expanded two of the three endangered facilities . 
the likely alternatives for the state were far worse . 
indeed , if this resolution were to pass today and the brac process were to be reopened from scratch , there would be no guarantee of saving brunswick , but portsmouth could be closed and limestone with its planned increase in jobs could be lost . 
that is why i am going to vote against the resolution to disapprove the brac list . 
as we approach the end of this very difficult brac round , it is important that we remain focused on promoting the best interests of the entire state and that we continue to work as one maine . 
i will do whatever i can to make sure that we build upon the successes of saving portsmouth and growing dfas limestone , and that we make the best of a difficult situation by enabling the brunswick community to build a bright future . 
