
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 3, 1993                   TAG: 9307030201
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

CLINTON OFFSETS CLOSINGS

President Clinton, seeking to help localities that will be hit hard by the new round of military base closings, unveiled a series of steps Friday designed to streamline the process so the property can be converted quickly for use in creating new jobs.

In a news conference at the White House, the president announced plans to reduce the amount of red tape in the cleanup and turnover of unneeded installations, to appoint a special federal coordinator to oversee each base closing and to simplify procedures for federal aid.

He also promised to propose legislation this autumn that would enable the Pentagon to sell the surplus land and facilities to localities at a discount - or in some cases to provide it free of charge - if they are used for job-creating endeavors.

The five-point proposal, part of which involved a repackaging of changes that the administration had already announced, also spotlighted earlier proposals by the president for appropriating about $1 billion a year in aid for environmental cleanup and high technology. Most, if not all, of the provisions require congressional approval.

Seeking to ease local anxiety over the base closings, Clinton promised that the administration would use the money to "provide an average grant of $1 million to each community affected" by a major base closing - an effort that he described as "unprecedented."

The unveiling of the measures - accompanied by briefings from a bevy of Cabinet officers - came as Clinton approved recommendations by an independent base-closings commission to shut down 35 major military installations in the United States.

The president's recommendations were hailed by representatives of localities that have been involved in base-closing ventures.

William L. Laubernds, president of the National Association of Installation Developers, a vocal critic of the base-closing process, praised the proposal as "clearly moving in the right direction." But he cautioned that the proof would lie in the implementation.

But Keith Cunningham, an analyst for Business Executives for National Security, a defense-oriented research group, expressed skepticism about how effective the changes would be.

"I'm very concerned that he [Clinton] is creating over-expectation," Cunningham said.

by CNB