WASHINGTON (AP) – The House of Representatives will vote this week on whether to delay the Pentagon’s plans for military base closure, as Democratic Rep. Stephanie Herseth of South Dakota and members from other potentially affected states push to stall any final decisions.
Language sponsored by Jeb Bradley, R-N.H., and cosponsored by Herseth will be offered as an amendment to legislation that would authorize fiscal 2006 funding for the Department of Defense.
The amendment would postpone the base closing process until most American troops return from Iraq and several Pentagon studies, including the Quadrennial Defense Review, are completed.
It is similar to legislation introduced in the Senate by Republican John Thune of South Dakota.
Bradley’s state of New Hampshire would be affected by the closing of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in nearby Kittery, Maine. That facility is among the largest on the Pentagon’s recommended list of closures.
Despite support from several affected states, the amendment faces long odds on the House floor.
The House Armed Services Committee last week defeated two similar amendments offered by Bradley.
The first, which would have terminated this year’s base closing process, failed on a 8-50 roll call vote. The second, which was similar to the amendment that will be offered on the floor, failed by a show of hands.
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