Page 16 - Abrac News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Because it was an object lesson in what doesn't work about washington. who wins and who lose. we thought who do we want to talk to about what we saw? maybe the guy who wrote this. >> we need to close the shipyard in your district. the brac hearing is tomorrow you won't put up your usual fight. you have zero testimony to add. >> you can't do that. >> yes, you can, peter. >> i spent months on that testimony. i lobbied the commission. my entire office. >> i'm sure you have done splendid work. unfortunately it can't come to fruition. >> politics, there are forces bigger than either of us here. >> ...

We thought who do we want to talk to about what we just saw? maybe the guy who wrote this? >> we need to close the shipyard in your district. the brac hearing is up tomorrow and you have zero testimony to add. >> i can't do that. i spent months on that testimony. i lobbied the commission, my entire office. >> i'm sure you have done splendid work but it come to fruition. >> why? >> politics. >> it's 12,000 jobs. >> i know. it's a shame. >> joining me executive and producer of "house of cards" and screenwriter on "the eyes of march." great to have you here. you work in politics quite a bit and b...

Basis and the political arena is where the battle will be fought. >> congressman, is 100,000 less the number you guys were working with as you put this together? >> well, you know, at that time i asked questions of the pentagon basically are they going to start bringing troops back from europe? they said no. troops in europe will be there for another 30 to 40 years. troops began to come back. it's a lot of problems with brac. they go about telling you they'll move troops and realign them from ft. a to ft. bliss and you have buildings that go on at the new positions they move the troops to and ...

The cost of cleanup was two or three times what it was estimated to be and most of the employees because of the recession did move down to aberde aberdeen. look at the 1993 brac, parts of that haven't been cleaned up yet and costs are way over what the estimate of the pentagon is. it is just guesstimates. not estimates. >> how much of the opposition is financial? do we know what the numbers are and how much of it is understandably emotional. you go to local papers in the communities where these bases are threatened with closure and the headlines are very terrifying. >> it's all jobs. it's all ...

With two hearings set for tomorrow on the budget, expect more controversy over the pentagon's plan to close military bases and reduce the civilian workforce. in its latest budget, defense is requesting about 2.4 billion over the next five years for a round of base closures that would start in 2015. republican lawmakers have already dismissed the controversial proposal. oklahoma senator jim inhofe, the top republican, has declared the plan dead on arrival. let me bring in retired army colonel jack jacobs and former nevada congressman james bilbray, one of nine members of that commission. congre...