GAO Report Opposing Closure of Navy Bases Was Withheld From Panel, Rohrabacher Says

A report by congressional auditors recommending that it would be unwise to shut down the Long Beach Naval Station and several other bases was ignored by the Navy and withheld from a presidential commission, according to an area congressman who has been battling to keep the Long Beach base open.

U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Long Beach) said last week that his staff struck “a gold nugget� when it obtained a copy of a still-unreleased, 50-plus page report from the General Accounting Office. The report recommends that the Navy leave existing bases alone and, instead, shut down six new strategic home ports, five of which are under construction, the congressman said.

Rohrabacher said the GAO report was forwarded to the Navy on March 13, one month before Long Beach and 30 other major military bases were marked for closure, a move that local officials say will damage the city’s economy.

Rohrabacher declined to release the report until it is reviewed by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, an independent body appointed by President Bush to review the proposed closures. Rohrabacher informed the commission of the report’s existence in a letter Thursday.

“The Navy has thumbed its nose at instructions it was given on how to make its decision,� Rohrabacher said. “This report is another piece of the puzzle, and when you put the pieces all together, the Navy doesn’t look very good.�