Strickland Urges Congress to Preserve State's Military Bases

Ventura County could be hit hard if Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's plan for military base closures goes through and the bases at Port Hueneme and Pt. Mugu get hit, but Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Moorpark) is taking steps to avoid that possibility.

The state senator has introduced a senate joint resolution encouraging the California Congressional delegation to help keep California military bases open if the U.S. Department of Defense goes forward with the new rounds of base closures—one scheduled for 2013 and one for 2015.

The bases employ about 19,000 military personnel and civilians in the county, according to Strickland, who said in a written statement that he hopes "that Congress does not move forward with President Obama's proposal to cut funding for national security."

"Military bases across the state benefit all the people of California, so we need to send a message to Congress to let them know just how important California's military bases are," he said.

On Feb. 14, the senator also sent a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown requesting the formation of an unpaid task force to work on the issue. A similar task force, the California Council on Base Support and Retention, was last created in 2004 under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and co-chaired by Leon Panetta. It has since expired.

Strickland represents California's 19th District, which covers portions of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties as well as cities in Ventura County, including Moorpark.