Mr. Chairman and members of the commission,
I appreciate the opportunity to be here today on behalf of
the citizens of Fairfax County, Virginia. Fairfax County is
pleased that the Department of Defense recognizes the vital
role the County plays as a place where thousands of defense
personnel can live, work and play. Just last year, we were
ranked by American City Business Journals as one of the top
ten places in the United States in which to live. By recommending
the transfer of over 20,000 personnel to Fort Belvoir, the
DOD has made it clear that we in Fairfax play a critical role
in our nation's military operations, and we are very proud
of that fact.
However, I do have serious concerns about the
Commission's recent decision to consider relocating military
medical commands from the Skyline Complex in Falls Church,
as I believe that the reasoning behind the original DOD recommendations
for Northern Virginia lies outside of the base closure process.
Two of the Pentagon's stated goals in the Northern Virginia
relocations - eliminating leased defense space and increasing
building security - are not included among the eight criteria
that govern the base closing process.
On the first issue, the Pentagon's basic premise
seems to be that vacating leased space is a goal unto itself.
In a recent report, the General Accounting Office (GAO) stated
that, "While our prior work generally supports the premise
that leased property is more expensive than government owned
property, the recommendations related to vacating leased space
also raises questions about a limitation in projected savings
and impact on local communities."
In discussing building security, the report
goes on to say that the DOD created a task force to develop
minimum force protection standards for DOD locations, but
that "…the application of the standards in BRAC
was not the result of a threat or vulnerability assessment
of the affected facilities." In fact, the Pentagon Force
Protection Agency has not yet begun their assessment of about
60 DOD-occupied leased buildings in the National Capital Region,
in order to determine both the costs and feasibility of upgrading
current leased space to meet new antiterrorism standards.
Fairfax County is committed to working with property owners
to ensure that necessary security adjustments are made to
satisfy DOD concerns. It seems more prudent to wait until
current facilities are properly assessed before moving substantial
groups of personnel to new facilities, forcing families to
make decisions about selling their homes, long commutes and
a change of schools and communities for their children.
It is my understanding that Charles E. Smith,
the landlord at Skyline, is willing to undertake appropriate
refurbishments to accommodate Pentagon security needs.
While Fairfax County will do what is necessary
to facilitate a smooth transition for all involved if the
current recommendations are enacted, making that promise a
reality will require a true partnership between the federal
government, the Commonwealth of Virginia and Fairfax County.
Thank you for your attention to these critical
issues. I look forward to working with all of you in the weeks
ahead.
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