Ohio lawmakers and community leaders made their final, formal pitch to members of a base-closing commission yesterday in hopes of keeping open and in place a defense finance center in Columbus and an Air Force graduate school near Dayton.
The facilities -the Defense Finance Accounting Services office and the Air Force Institute of Technology -employ more than 2,500 workers.
The institute, which has 500 employees and more than 900 students, is the Air Force's graduate school of engineering and management. It was added to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission's list last month, with commissioners trying to decide whether to merge the institute with two other schools in California.
Also added to the list was DFAS in Columbus. The office has 2,067 employees who make payments to military contractors and vendors, provide accounting services for defense agencies and process travel payments for Pentagon employees.
During yesterday's hearing in Washington, Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, told the commission that the office performs accounting services for 29 defense agencies and is the single largest DFAS location that processes payments for defense contractors. He said the office's total payments in fiscal 2004 -many to contractors associated with weapons systems -totaled $149 billion, one third of the Pentagon's budget.
DeWine told the commission that the office is a modern facility, has room to grow and that the Pentagon would not have to spend any construction money if it wanted to add workers.
It was a strong presentation
DeWine said later.
Steve Tugend, vice president of government relations for the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, said that since a BRAC commissioner already has indicated that it was highly unlikely that DFAS would close, those who testified urged the commission to consider the facility as a place to add jobs if other sites are consolidated.
We were able to get all of our points across Tugend said.
DeWine also urged the commission to keep the Air Force Institute of Technology open and operating at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
He said the institute is next to base research labs, giving students access to lab equipment as well as experienced scientists and engineers.
He said the location offers students the ability to learn about classified technology. For example, the institute was able to teach stealth technology to Air Force officers who went on to develop and operate stealth airplanes, he said.
Afterward, DeWine said he is cautiously optimistic that the commissioners will recommend keeping AFIT at Wright-Patterson.
I got the feeling they understand that AFIT cannot be duplicated anywhere else he said. I will be very surprised if the recommendation is to move AFIT. I think the case has been made.
The commission is expected to make a final decision later this month about which installations to propose for closing, reducing or moving, with President Bush and Congress making a binding decision in the fall.
17
Archives
The Associated Press
