Senate Armed Services Committee adopts Scott Brown’s proposal to preserve staffing at Hanscom Air Force Base

By Callum Borchers

May 25, 2012

1 minute to read

The Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday adopted proposals by Senator Scott Brown that would block some scheduled cuts at Hanscom Air Force Base and spur construction of state-of-the-art research labs at the facility.

The Air Force plans to shed several hundred workers at the base in Bedford later this year, but Brown’s amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act require the retention of a three-star general and enough personnel to maintain core functions of the facility’s Electronic Systems Center. They also urge the Air Force to proceed with a $450 million upgrade to Hanscom’s Lincoln Laboratory complex, which would be funded by MIT.

“By passing these amendments, the Senate Armed Services Committee reaffirmed the importance of what Massachusetts’ military, academic, advanced research and defense industrial base resources contribute to our national security,’’ Brown, a Republican from Massachusetts, said in a statement. “In a year full of tough budgeting decisions for the defense community, this is a positive step forward for our bases, their communities and the service members who sacrifice so much every day to keep us safe.’’

Brown’s amendments will next be considered by the full Senate.

The House last week passed similar measures sponsored by Representative Niki Tsongas, a Lowell Democrat. Her amendments would require the Air Force to secure congressional approval before cutting staff at the Electronic Systems Center. About 10,000 military and civilian workers are employed at the base, according to Tsongas’s office, and the facility is home to more than 200 acquisition programs.

Brown also worked with Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on an amendment that would stop planned staffing rollbacks at Otis Air National Guard Base, until the completion of a study.

A parallel measure failed a House vote because it would have taken $36 million of $400 million in missile defense shield funding sought by Republicans.