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By BRIAN MALINA brianm@leader.net
Wednesday, February 09, 2000 Page: 10B
President Clinton’s 2001 budget could force Tobyhanna Army Depot to again
defend itself against closure.
In the budget, released Monday, Clinton proposed two additional rounds of
military base closings, said U.S. Rep. Ron Klink, D-Westmoreland.
Under Clinton’s proposal, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission would
examine closing additional bases in 2003 and 2005.
Kevin Toolan, spokesman for Tobyhanna, said he was not surprised by the
news.
“The (Department of Defense) position is that it still has too much
infrastructure,” Toolan said
Klink used the potential closing as an opening to attack U.S. Sen. Rick
Santorum, R-Pittsburgh, who in 1999 voted to support a single round of base
closures in 2001.
“The junior senator’s vote sends the wrong message. This is not good for
our nation’s readiness. This is not good for the morale of workers, the
military and the civilian personnel,” Klink said.
Klink is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Santorum for his
Senate seat in November.
Robert Traynham, spokesman for Santorum, acknowledged the senator supports
reviewing and possibly closing some bases, just not Tobyhanna.
“Tobyhanna is the most efficient depot in the country. (The senator) does
not believe it will be shut down,” Traynham said. “He wants to ensure that
it will be around for many years to come.”
However, Traynham acknowledged that another round of closures would require
Tobyhanna, along with all bases, to be reviewed. He said previous reviews have
strengthened Tobyhanna.
Tobyhanna has hired 321 employees since the last round of closings in 1995.
Toolan said the hires were needed to pick up work transferred from McClellan
Air Force Base in Sacramento, Calif., and the Letterkenny Army Depot in
Chambersburg.
He expects Tobyhanna to hire an additional 225 workers this year as more
work is transferred.
Tobyhanna employs more than 3,100 workers, Klink said.
Five years ago, a Blue Ribbon Task Force helped convince a government
commission that Tobyhanna Army Depot should not be included in a round of base
closings.
“It’s a very difficult process. Nobody wants to go through that again,”
said Toolan.
U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood,
R-Tunkhannock, and U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Philadelphia, also have spoken
out against additional base closings.
Call Malina at 829-7196.