Pressure on for gov't accountability on BRAC
Fort closure foes reinvigorated by moving cost increase
BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer

Serious concerns about the closure of Fort Monmouth have some elected officials on the offensive. They are asking the Government Accountability Office to investigate the process surrounding the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decisions.

Congressmen Rush Holt (D-12) and Frank J. Pallone Jr. (D-6) both sent representatives to the June 20 meeting of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority (FMERPA) to read prepared statements regarding the questionable decision to close Fort Monmouth.

The next day, Sens. Ellen Karcher and Michael J. Panter (D-12) sent a joint letter to Gov. Jon Corzine.

"As I am sure you are aware, U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, as well as Representatives Frank Pallone and Rush Holt, have requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) look into the process that resulted in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission's decision to close a number of Department of Defense (DoD) research centers, with particular attention to be paid to Fort Monmouth," they wrote.

The letter noted that the request follows reports that the cost to close Fort Monmouth and move the fort's functions to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland has nearly doubled in two years - from $780 million to $1.5 billion.

All of the public officials are asking the GAO to investigate information used at the time regarding the need to close or consolidate the fort with all of its research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E) facilities.

Holt and Pallone each voiced their concern that the data the Department of Defense furnished to the commission was both flawed and distorted, particularly with regard to Fort Monmouth.

According to a press release, the legislators issued the joint statement in light of the serious allegation raised by an expert inside the BRAC process, raising "the troubling possibility that information was cherry-picked for the BRAC Commission in order to reach a decision pre-ordained by the Department of Defense. We must find out what went wrong and how we can correct it."

Holt and Pallone are calling on the GAO to investigate whether the defense department's cost estimates on closing Fort Monmouth and moving its functions to Aberdeen Proving Ground were based on complete data; whether the Army and/or the defense department provided data designed to reach a predetermined conclusion; whether the defense department or Army officials acted illegally or inappropriately by providing false or misleading information to the BRAC Commission and Congress; and whether closing Fort Monmouth will jeopardize the defense department's ability to support the troops in the field.

In a letter to Comptroller General David M. Walker of the GAO, they wrote that they repeatedly expressed their view that the defense department's claims regarding cost savings and the ability to continue providing proper support to deployed forces during any move of assets and personnel from Fort Monmouth was not supported by the facts.

"Recent press reports appear to have validated our argument that the data DoD furnished to the BRAC Commission regarding Fort Monmouth was flawed and distorted," they wrote.

In addition, they said, they have learned of previously undisclosed internal defense department memoranda that raise serious questions about whether the department was truthful in its declarations to the BRAC Commission and the Congress.

They urged the GAO to send representatives to a public forum in central New Jersey so that members of the public can learn how GAO will go about investigating this issue.

Freeholder Lillian Burry, who is a member of FMERPA, brought up the recent press reports at the June 20 meeting. She called them the "revelations of this week."

She questioned whether BRAC had a full report. She added that in the Freeholders' opinion, FMERPA was well founded.

"We support it wholeheartedly," she said, but citizens want to know how much it will cost to close Fort Monmouth.

FMERPA Chairman Robert Lucky said, "Needless to say, we're all concerned, but we need to go ahead and do our jobs."

Eatontown Mayor Gerald Tarantolo seemed a bit disgruntled when he spoke about the tight schedule that FMERPA has been given to get the master plan done.

"We should throw it right back into their face," he said.

Frank Cosentino, FMERPA director, said the consultants as well as the Office of Economic Adjustment are fully aware and are evaluating whether or not they have enough time.

"We want to do this right," he said.