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| May 31, 2005 | |||
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SENATORS COLLINS, LIEBERMAN DEMAND THAT RUMSFELD TURN OVER BRAC RELATED DOCUMENTS
Senators to Issue Subpoena if Documents are Not Released Immediately |
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WASHINGTON, DC-- Following repeated requests from Member of Congress, including Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Susan Collins and Ranking Member Joseph Lieberman, that the Department of Defense immediately release all documents related to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, the Senators today sent a letter to Secretary Rumsfeld demanding immediate release of the documents.
In a letter to Secretary Rumsfeld, dated Friday, May 27, the Senators reminded Rumsfeld of the Department’s statutory obligation to release the documents. The Senators, who have the authority to subpoena such documents, said that they would exercise that authority of necessary. "Should the Department continue to violate its statutory obligation and refuse to produce all such information [related to BRAC] immediately and completely, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will act pursuant to its authority under the Rules of the United States Senate to investigate the Department’s decision-making process underlying its recommendations for potential improprieties. As part of that investigation, the Committee will issue a subpoena to the Department to compel production of the information required by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act,” wrote the Senators in their letter. The Senators, both of whom represent states that are disproportionately affected by BRAC closures, said that only a complete release of data—including emails, memoranda, spreadsheets, analyses, raw data, handwritten notes and telephone logs, for example—would be acceptable. “The integrity of the BRAC process depends on the release of these documents. In addition, it is unfair to bases that have early visits from BRAC Commissioners, such as those in Connecticut and Maine, to not have immediate data available to them,” said Senators Collins and Lieberman. Earlier today, the Senators also sent a letter to President Bush requesting that he intervene and demand that the Department of Defense release the documents in question. The full text of the letter to Secretary Rumsfeld is as follows: May 27, 2005 Dear Secretary Rumsfeld: We are writing to demand that the Department of Defense comply with its statutory obligation to disclose to Congress all the information underlying its recent recommendations for military base closures and realignments. The Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 as amended (the "Act") requires that the Department "mak[e] all information used by the Secretary to prepare the recommendations ... available to Congress (including any committee or member of Congress)" to enable Congress to conduct a substantive review of the Department’s recommendations. Section 2903(c)(4). Despite repeated requests from Members of Congress, the Department has thus far refused to make available to Congress this critical information. The Department’s failure to disclose all of this information prevents Congress from conducting a thorough and meaningful review of those recommendations. The Act also requires the Department to release all such information to the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission to facilitate the Commission’s assessment of the Department’s recommendations and submission of independent findings and conclusions to the President by September 8, 2005. Id. We understand that the Department has failed to disclose all of this information to the Commission despite the fact that the short time frame for the Commission’s work required the Commission to initiate its review immediately following the Department’s release of its recommendations on May 13, 2005. The Department was put on notice of this obligation when the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 instituted the current round of base closures and realignments. Thus the Department has no excuse for failing to disclose all of the information contemporaneously with the release of its recommendations and for the continuing delay. The integrity of the base closure and realignment process depends upon openness and transparency. The absence of these qualities due to the Department’s failure to abide by its statutory obligation to disclose information undermines our confidence in the Department’s decision-making process and undoubtedly raises similar concerns across the American public. To be clear about our understanding of the Department’s statutory obligations, we believe that the text of the statute - "all information used by the Secretary to prepare the recommendations" - means literally all information. We therefore expect that the information disclosed by the Department in fulfillment of its statutory obligation will include not only all documents (e.g., email traffic, memoranda, spreadsheets, analyses, raw data, handwritten notes, and telephone logs) related to the Department’s decision-making process as set forth in the Act but also all documents that might reflect the influence or consideration of factors not authorized in that Act. Only a complete disclosure will suffice to begin restoring public confidence in the Department’s decision-making process. Should the Department continue to violate its statutory obligation and refuse to produce all such information immediately and completely, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will act pursuant to its authority under the Rules of the United States Senate to investigate the Department’s decision-making process underlying its recommendations for potential improprieties. As part of that investigation, the Committee will issue a subpoena to the Department to compel production of the information required by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act. Sincerely, Susan M. Collins Joseph I. Lieberman |
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340 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510