PORTLAND (AP) -Maine Senators Susan Collins and Angus King oppose a proposed round of military base closures.
Collins is making the comments in the wake of a proposed amendment to the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act being considered by the Senate.
She says the bases would be closed through a revised Base Realignment and Closure process beginning in 2021.
Collins says previous rounds of base closures have had a “disproportionate effect on Maine.” She cites the closure of Brunswick Naval Air Station in 2005.
King says “With heightened tensions around the world, our country’s national security must be a top priority, and a base closure round at this time is not in our national security interests.
Maine has two major military installations. They are the Defense Finance and Accounting Service in Limestone and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery.
Collins says they are among the most “efficient and productive” installations in the country and she will fight to keep them.
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