Biden says he’s open to shutting more military bases
Former Vice President Joe Biden said that if he wins the White House, he would consider more military base closures and consolidations to save the nation billions of dollars and reposition the military for a new era of conflicts.
“Were I president, I would ask the Congress for a base closure review, but any base closures recommended, I would have to be assured communities are completely taken care of,” Biden told Hearst Newspapers.
Knowing that bases can be the major economic driver, particularly in smaller communities, Biden said there would have to be efforts to protect those communities.
It’s been almost 15 years since the last round of base closures, but the Pentagon has consistently told Congress and previous administrations that it has 20 percent more infrastructure than it needs for today’s military.
Biden said military needs have changed. He said no longer is it about needing large forces for a land war. Instead, he said, it’s more about building coalitions and working to deal with rogue nations and enemies.
“I would support a commission that looked at excess capacity, consolidated capacity, as well as base closures,” Biden said.
The last Base Realignment and Closure, or BRAC, was in 2005. In 1995, the BRAC commission voted to close San Antonio’s Kelly AFB, which once had more than 25,000 employees.
In Texas, 15 active-duty military installations have an economic impact of over $100 billion.
President Donald Trump has included a new round of base closures in his annual budget requests to Congress. In those past budgets, the Pentagon has called for a BRAC in 2021. Congress has not acted on those requests and has even barred the Pentagon from conducting an analysis of another round of closures.
Later, Biden used a speech at La Villita to promise to take care of veterans, reform U.S. immigration and fix America’s relationships around the globe.
“Our very democracy is at risk under this administration,” Biden said.
He said that around the world, U.S. allies are more uncertain under President Trump and that nations such as Russia and North Korea are more emboldened.
“Americans can overcome four years of Donald Trump’s chaos,” Biden said. “but if reelected, he will forever fundamentally change the character of who we are as a nation.”
Biden also made the case that he is the candidate in the Democratic primary field with the most national and international political experience to right the U.S. and its alliances.
“There will be no time for onthe-job training,” said Biden, who before becoming vice president under President Barack Obama in 2008 served in the U.S. Senate for 36 years.
Biden said he knows why Trump doesn’t want to face him in November 2020.
“Folks, with your help, I’ll beat him and beat him like a drum,” Biden said.
Biden was also in San Antonio on Friday to attend a fundraiser in the suburb of Terrell Hills. The events were Biden’s first campaign trip to San Antonio since he announced his run for the White House in late April.
“It’s great to be back in Texas,” Biden told about 600 people at the rally at La Villita. “You’re going to see a whole lot of me between now and next November, God willing.”
Biden also picked up a new round of Texas endorsements while in the state Friday. State Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, and former San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger both endorsed him and were at his speech at La Villita.
The presidential campaign in Texas is starting to heat up as the March 3 Democratic primary nears. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign announced that it was opening offices in San Antonio and Austin today, and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has flooded Texas televisions with more than $6 million of ads.
Early polling suggests that Biden has a huge lead over his rivals in Texas. A CNN poll released Wednesday showed him with a 20 percentage point lead over U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.