A group of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard supporters sporting ‘‘Save Our Shipyard’’ T-shirts poured into the Boston convention center. (Globe Staff Photo / David L. Ryan)

New England makes pitch for keeping bases open
By Rick Klein and Matt Viser, Globe Staff  |  July 7, 2005

Closing Cape Cod's Otis Air Force Base would leave New England ill-prepared to protect major buildings, transportation routes, and energy delivery systems in the event of a terrorist attack, Massachusetts officials told members of the military's base-closing commission yesterday.

Governor Mitt Romney privately provided commission members with his administration's assessment of the state's potential terrorist targets, which he did not make public. He said the ''sensitive" assessment demonstrates the essential role played by Otis-based fighter planes in protecting the region. The assessment was reviewed by the Department of Homeland Security, he said.

The pleas on behalf of Otis came as lawmakers from across the region also asked the independent Base Realignment and Closure Commission to reverse Pentagon recommendations and support the continued operation of some of New England's largest military installations.

With Maine-based Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Connecticut's Submarine Base New London slated to be closed under the Pentagon proposal -- in addition to Otis and a range of smaller facilities -- a procession of governors, senators, House members, and representatives of affected communities accused the Defense Department of making significant factual errors in preparing its list of recommended closings. The hearing at the Boston Convention and Exposition Center represented perhaps the best chance for officials from New England states to make the case for their bases before the members of the base-closing commission.

Aside from robbing New England of much of its military presence, the Pentagon recommendations could drive up overall defense costs as other bases assume the workload, and could plunge parts of New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut into ''regional recessions," the lawmakers said.

''This proposal will not realize a reduction at cost, and it will make the Northeast region of the United States less safe, and it amounts to nothing more than a budgetary shell game," said Representative William D. Delahunt, a Quincy Democrat whose district includes Cape Cod.

A uniform theme was that the Pentagon's analysis of the military value and productivity of New England's military bases that are slated for closure is flawed. While the arguments were not new, the hearing gave New England politicians and workers the chance for a comprehensive, coherent effort to sway commissioners.

With thousands of jobs at stake, much of the region's top political leadership shuttled between rallies, a room set up for press conferences, and the cavernous hearing hall as the commission members sat through 10 hours of testimony. Busloads of base supporters traveled from Cape Cod, New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut to rally on behalf of the facilities in their areas, with supporters of different bases in color-coded T-shirts. The supporters -- thousands in all -- came and went in waves as the commission heard testimony on a state-by-state basis.

The commission's chairman, Anthony J. Principi, said after the hearing that he was impressed by the ''dramatic testimony" suggesting that the Pentagon strayed from its guidelines in slating the New England bases for closure.

''We have a lot of analysis to do, based on the information we heard today," Principi said. ''It's clear to all of us that New England is hit particularly hard by these recommendations, and I think that makes our work more challenging to ensure that it's been done right."

Economic impact was one of the criteria to be used by the Pentagon in reviewing bases for the list.

Massachusetts officials argued that shutting down Otis, as recommended by the Pentagon in May, would leave the region with only two fighter planes on alert within a 175-mile radius of Boston, a situation Romney called ''impractical" and potentially dangerous.

He said the state's security assessment demonstrates Otis-based planes guard busy air routes and rail lines, gas pipelines, telecommunications infrastructure, and other potential targets that require ''special prevention and protection plans."

''Much of the energy and transportation capability of the entire Northeast centers on our Commonwealth," Romney told the five members of the nine-person commission who attended yesterday's New England regional hearing. ''Obviously, any vulnerability is unacceptable."

Officials said the Pentagon also erred in overlooking Otis' potential for expansion and the impact the base's closure would have on the Coast Guard and other federal agencies that use portions of the 22,000-acre military installation. The government's true savings from closing the base would be $18 million over 20 years, not the Pentagon's estimate of $336 million, said Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts. The difference, he said, comes from failing to tally the costs associated with shipping the base functions elsewhere and continuing to maintain a US Coast Guard presence at Otis.

''That's a small price to pay to ensure the safety of New England and the nation," Kennedy said. ''These facts lead to only one conclusion: Otis should stay open."

The commission is charged with reviewing the Pentagon's list and suggesting changes to President Bush by Sept. 8. Once the president sends the final list to Congress, it must be accepted or rejected wholesale, giving significant weight to the commission's calls.

A simple majority of the commission members must agree to save a base. But if commissioners decide to close another base instead in an effort to maintain the cost savings sought by the Pentagon, seven of the nine members must approve of the addition.

Maine and New Hampshire officials argued that the Pentagon ignored its own data with regard to the Portsmouth base's military value and the costs that would be incurred by shifting its ship-repair functions to other bases. They also said the 4,000 jobs that would disappear there would devastate the economy of the southern parts of the states that provide most of the base's workforce.

Senator John E. Sununu, Republican of New Hampshire, presented data showing that the Pentagon did not account for $293 million in costs associated with having other bases pick up Portsmouth's workload, and overstated cost-saving estimates by $1.5 billion over 20 years.

In an exchange that left Maine and New Hampshire lawmakers optimistic about Portsmouth's fate, commission chairman Principi raised the possibility of scaling back the Pearl Harbor base in Hawaii and keeping Portsmouth open as a larger naval base.

''The justification given for closing Portsmouth and retaining Pearl is that Pearl is strategically placed," Principi said. He noted that if Pearl Harbor were downscaled instead, more ships could be moved there if a greater Pacific strength is needed. Last week, Principi asked Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to explain why he wants to keep Pearl Harbor and close Portsmouth, given that Navy statistics show that Portsmouth -- which has continuously operated since 1800 -- is more efficient.

Connecticut officials accused the Pentagon of seeking to protect the sub base in Kings Bay, Ga., at the expense of the New London base, which they said was superior in productivity and has greater military value. They also argued that the Navy would lose an important relationship with the private Groton-based Electric Boat if the New London-area base were shuttered.

''You are the jury, and I urge you to use the same kind of standards a jury would in a capital case," said Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut. ''If you turn this base off, it's never going to be rebuilt again -- anywhere. Why take the risk?"

Nationwide, the Pentagon's recommendations, issued in May, would close 33 large military bases and redefine the missions of some 800 other military installations, in an effort to generate $48.6 billion in long-term savings. New England would suffer the largest job loss of any region, with the six-state region on track to lose nearly half of the 29,000 jobs expected to be lost nationwide.

The Pentagon plan calls for preserving Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford and the Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, and transferring about 1,100 jobs to Hanscom. Still, with lawmakers across the country making pitches for their bases to stay open, lawmakers lobbied commission members to follow the Pentagon's recommendations for the Bedford and Natick bases.

In past rounds of base closings, the commission has shown great deference to the Pentagon's recommendations, and the process is designed to be insulated from political influences.

But lawmakers expressed hope that the commission will recognize Defense Department mistakes and change the list of base closings that will be presented to the president.

''I'm not often betting; I don't often make it to Las Vegas," Romney said. ''But I'm betting that we're going to save Otis."