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“DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2014” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1124 on July 24, 2013.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2014
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speech of
HON. DEVIN NUNES
of california
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2397) makign appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014, and for other purposes:
Mr. NUNES. Mr. Chair, I rise today to address the crucial need for retaining the U.S. military's force structure at Lajes Field.
Due to Air Force planners' short-sighted decision to draw down at Lajes, the United States is poised to surrender a military asset of unparalleled strategic value. Located on the Azores island chain between Europe and the United States, Lajes is like the Hawaii of the Atlantic Ocean--only closer to the American mainland. The islands belong to Portugal, a strong U.S. ally since World War II that has never prevented us from conducting operational missions.
The base at this crucial location has bolstered the United States' control of the Atlantic since World War II, proving critical to our tracking of Soviet submarines during the Cold War. It allows for U.S. access to Europe, the Middle East, and western and sub-Saharan Africa, and enables the expeditionary movement of warfighters, aircraft, ships, and global communications to AFRICOM and CENTCOM's joint, coalition, and NATO operations.
It is also a vital site for countering a major regional threat, al-
Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which has known ties to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and other violent groups. In fact, from Lajes, ten of the eighteen African countries that hold State Department Travel Warnings can be reached within six hours. Further, Lajes is well-
positioned to act as a logistical hub not only for the Defense Department, but also for USAID, the State Department, and other agencies.
Having engaged with Portuguese officials for years on this issue, I know that the consequences of drawing down the base will be dire. Our strategic planners may believe we can leave a mere skeletal operation at Lajes and retain access there, but in reality, the Air Force's decision to draw down at the base means a total end to the U.S. presence at Lajes. This will severely impact the Azorean economy, forcing Portugal to find a new tenant for the site. In light of the weak Portuguese economy, we do not want to make Azoreans choose between their alliance with the United States and their ability to feed their families.
While our strategic planners may not want to be in the Azores anymore, leaders of other nations feel differently. Several high ranking Chinese officials have visited the islands in recent years, including a sojourn by China's Ambassador to Portugal just a few weeks ago, as well as a June 2012 visit to Terceira by then-Premier Wen Jiabao. The Chinese did not divulge what all these delegates were doing there, but I assure you they weren't sipping port and enjoying the pleasant climate.
In the wake of the decision to wind down Lajes, we cannot assume the Portuguese will exclude China or other bad actors from the site simply out of allegiance to the U.S.; the recent decision to send a rapid reaction force of 500 U.S. Marines to Moron, Spain--a contingent that would have much more flexibility at the logistics hub of Lajes--could easily be interpreted as a calculated insult to our Portuguese friends.
These Marines could easily be located in Lajes, which is a safe environment that allows for forward basing at Rota, Spain, or Sigonella, Italy, or if necessary, for the deployment of troops in Western and sub-Saharan Africa. This amendment would give Defense Department planners the opportunity to think outside the box. If they did, they would realize this solution would allow the Air Force to scale-down at Lajes, provide maximum strategic flexibility for the Marines, and fully utilize the Lajes facility.
The retention of Lajes was not an issue for seventy years because prior planners never contemplated giving up something so crucial to U.S. interests. Because this Congress does not assume that Chinese and Russian subs will voluntarily stop sailing beneath the Atlantic Ocean or that jihadists will stop training in sub-Saharan Africa, we need the flexibility that Lajes' unique location provides.
As we reduce our European footprint--comprising 110,000 personnel and dozens of military installations--we need to base our decisions on each site's global strategic value and tactical and strategic flexibility. It would cost billions to build a base like Lajes today, and we must understand that the decision by Air Force planners to draw down at Lajes means closing the site and losing our access there.
Therefore, Mr. Chair, I encourage my colleagues to vote for this amendment to retain the current force structure at Lajes Field, and to keep this crucial military asset fully staffed and fully operational.
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