The California Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with local government and business organizations with statewide interests in the economy and the state's role in national defense, has pledged its support for the state's base retention efforts.
The joining organizations include: the California Aerospace and Technology Association; the California Business Roundtable; the California Manufacturers and Technology Association; the California State Association of Counties and the League of California Cities. The support of the Chamber, along with these organizations, underscores the strong, unified effort to protect California jobs during the 2005 round of base closures.
The organizations have jointly released a message declaring their support:
Defense spending makes up a considerable portion of the state's economy. Total defense expenditures in California for fiscal year 2003 are estimated at approximately $42 billion, and the Department of Defense employs more than 270,000 in the state.
California has a unique combination of irreplaceable geographic assets and a temperate climate which permits training virtually year-round in almost all kinds of climatic zones. In addition to these superb geographical assets, California boasts generations of aerospace engineers and technicians, many of whom were educated and trained in the state's universities. This combination of assets makes California's military installations highly valued now and for the next 25 years.
It is for all these reasons, as well as the economic value of our military bases, that we recognize California as a strategic partner of the Department of Defense, and pledge to support efforts to retain our vital bases.'
In 2005, the United States will go through its fifth round of base closures since 1988. Twenty-nine bases have been closed in California out of a total of 91 bases closed nationwide. California has lost 99,000 jobs, roughly half of all jobs lost nationwide, in the four rounds of base closure.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is making base retention a top priority in 2005 and has established a new commission to help lead the effort of base retention in the state. The new commission will focus on advising local, state and congressional representatives on base issues and will recommend strategies to prevent base closures.
The commission will include California Chamber of Commerce Third Vice Chair Donna Tuttle, co-owner and chairman of Elmore Tuttle Sports Group in Manhattan Beach. Tuttle was a Commerce Department official in the Reagan administration.
