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Web posted Friday,
December 17, 2004
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The local
situation
Beaufort's three military
bases - Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort,
Parris Island Marine Recruit Depot and the
Beaufort Naval Hospital - have a combined
economic impact of $454 million on the
surrounding communities, according to a
University of Georgia study done at the request
of the Greater Beaufort Chamber of
Commerce.
A more recent study by a
University of South Carolina economist shows an
overall impact on labor income alone at $614
million.
For more information about the
local Military Enhancement Committee and its
efforts to protect the bases from the upcoming
congressional Base Realignment and Closure
discussions, check out
www.beaufortmec.org
| | Ceips
fighting governor over base commission
BEAUFORT: Sanford rejects plans for
statewide military preparedness panel.
By Lolita Huckaby
Carolina Morning News
State
Rep. Catherine Ceips said Thursday she plans to
launch a campaign to override Gov. Mark Sanford's
decision earlier this week to veto creation of a
statewide Military Preparedness and Enhancement
Commission.
"I'm disappointed the governor
took this action ... I feel strongly that the
commission would show Congress and the Department
of Defense we support the military establishments
in our state, not just now, with base closure
discussions taking place, but always," said Ceips,
R-Beaufort.
Sanford vetoed H-4481, which
Ceips sponsored, contending it was a duplication
of the S.C. Military Base Task Force which he
created last year.
The commission, as
outlined in the bill Ceips sponsored, would have a
$25 million revolving fund to assist communities
where military bases had been closed.
No
appropriations for the fund were included, and
that was one reason for the governor's
decision.
Ceips said she doesn't consider
the legislation a duplication because the
commission would be an ongoing group of 11
appointees who would continue to consider the
impact of military bases within the state after
the congressional Base Realignment and Closure
report scheduled for release in May.
"I
still look forward to working with the governor to
find the funding we need," Ceips
added.
Beaufort County Council Vice
Chairman W.R. "Skeet" Von Harten, who chairs the
council's Military Affairs Committee, said he was
also disappointed Sanford vetoed the
bill.
"If he had signed it, it would have
been another positive sign to Congress and the
Department of Defense how important we consider
our bases here in South Carolina," Von Harten
said.
"Since he chose not to sign it, I
hope that means he stands ready to work with us
next year to put in place a mechanism that will
help communities protect and enhance their
military facilities."
The County Council
has already contributed $217,000 to the local
Military Enhancement Committee's campaign against
any closure action.
The state has also
contributed $100,000 which the MEC has used, in
part, to hire a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying
firm, the Rhoads Group.
The County
Council's Military Affairs Committee on Thursday
endorsed resolutions to send to the General
Assembly, when it reconvenes in January, and to
Congress, expressing local support for Beaufort's
three bases - the Naval Hospital, Marine Corps Air
Station Beaufort and Parris Island Recruit
Training Depot.
"It's not enough for us to
know how great our bases are if we don't tell
others," Von Harten said. "It's like that brick
wall where every brick makes it stronger.
Everything we can do to strengthen the story of
our bases, we need to do it."
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