THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 4, 1995 TAG: 9501040436
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
A former secretary of the Army and a member of the 1991 base-closing commission staff have been tapped to fill two of the four Republican seats on the 1995 commission.
Michael P.W. Stone and Wendi Steele were recommended for the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission just before Christmas by Senate GOP Leader Bob Dole. Their nominations are up to President Clinton, but the base-closing law requires him to ``consult'' with Dole.
As the law specifies, House Speaker Newt Gingrich also has made two recommendations, and Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle and House Democratic Leader Richard A. Gephardt each has forwarded one name to Clinton. None has been made public.
Clinton has a free hand to fill two spots on the eight-member commission. He has already used one selection, choosing former Illinois Sen. Alan J. Dixon to head the panel. Dixon was confirmed as commission chairman in October.
Stone, 69, was secretary of the Army in the Bush administration. He served as an assistant secretary and undersecretary in President Reagan's second term. A businessman who was a vineyard executive before Reagan named him to head the U.S. Mission in Cairo in 1982, Stone lives in San Francisco.
Steele, of Houston, also worked in both the Reagan and Bush administrations and was a staff member in the Office of Management and Budget before joining the 1991 base-closing commission staff.
Stone's selection should comfort California Gov. Pete Wilson, who had demanded that at least one commission member come from the Golden State. California has the largest military presence of any state and so has the most to lose in the base-closing process.
Virginia, with the nation's second largest defense presence, fared relatively well in those earlier rounds. Still, the state's congressional delegation is pushing several candidates for appointment.
The 1995 closings are the last scheduled. Unable to muster a consensus on which bases should be sacrificed in the military's post-Cold War downsizing, Congress decided in the late 1980s to set up commissions for base shutdowns in 1991, '93 and '95.
In March, the new commission is to receive the Pentagon's recommendations on this year's closings. Public hearings in impacted areas will follow and by July, the commission is to transmit a final list of recommended closings to Clinton and Congress. ILLUSTRATION: Dole
KEYWORDS: BASE-CLOSING COMMISSION BRAC by CNB