Senate candidate supports base closings

Jim Rubens, who is challenging Kelly Ayotte in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, supports military base closings in the U.S. and abroad.

The last Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) was in 2005.

“Is there pork there? You’re darned right,” Rubens told the Union Leader. “The Pentagon itself has said we need to reduce the number of bases, not only in the U.S. but around the world.” 

Another BRAC could potentially lead to the closure of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.  The shipyard was considered in the 2005 BRAC.

Rubens said he believes the shipyard would survive any future BRAC due to its strong performance.

Ayotte and Democratic candidate Gov. Maggie Hassan both oppose another round of base closures. 

“I do not want to give the department the open-ended authority to pursue another BRAC round that will potentially incur significant upfront costs when we do not have the room in our budget in the next few years to afford many fundamental readiness investments that are right before us,” Ayotte said at an April hearing. 

A spokesman for Maggie Hassan also expressed concern that another BRAC would threaten the shipyard.

“The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is vital to our state’s economy and our national security interests,” said spokesman Aaron Jacobs. 

Do you think New Hampshire’s next U.S. Senator should support another BRAC?  Let us know in the comments.