STEVEN A. McCALEB
103 ALVERADO DRIVE
LONG BEACH, MISSISSIPPI 39560
PHONE & FAX: (228)-868-8428
E-MAIL: mccaleb4thdist@aol.com
WEB SITE: www.mississippiwebsite.com
STEVEN A. McCALEB
103 ALVERADO DRIVE
LONG BEACH, MISSISSIPPI 39560
PHONE & FAX: (228)-868-8428
E-MAIL: mccaleb4thdist@aol.com
WEB SITE: www.mississippiwebsite.com
September 7, 2001
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Monday, April 30, 2007
A WASTE OF TAXPAYERS MONEY!!
At the MDA budget hearing, Rep. Diane Peranich, D-Pass Christian, asked why Rhoads was needed when the state has its congressmen and senators in Washington.
"That's their job. That's what they do," she said.
I believe we should vote out every elected
official, starting with Governor Ronnie Musgrove,
during our next election which supports paying $200,000 a year for this consultant.
JACKSON - State officials say they need a $200,000-a-year consultant to help stave off potential military base closings in Mississippi.
J.C. Burns, executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority, defended the expense in an appearance before legislative leaders.
Burns said lawyer Barry Rhoads of Washington, D.C., is the state's eyes and ears on base closings.
The Pentagon is proposing that an independent commission be convened in 2003 to discuss the closings.
Since the last round of closings in 1995, Congress has repeatedly refused requests by the Pentagon to close more bases even though military officials have said they are wasting money on surplus installations.
Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., has said a one-year, targeted base closing proposal concentrating on bases with excess capacity and foreign installations would be less painful to communities.
He said training bases - of which there are three in Mississippi - should not be closed. The training bases are in Columbus, Meridian and Biloxi.
At the MDA budget hearing, Rep. Diane Peranich, D-Pass Christian, asked why Rhoads was needed when the state has its congressmen and senators in Washington.
"That's their job. That's what they do," she said.
MDA Deputy Director Jay Moon said Mississippi's congressional members and military community leaders consider Rhoads a valuable player in safeguarding their defense installations.
"His representation for our state has been very strong," Moon said.
A former federal base-closing commission lawyer, Rhoads has been an adviser for Mississippi since 1993.
The state's defense facilities survived the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission reviews in 1991, 1993 and 1995. The state's nine military installations employ about 31,000 people, according to MDA's most recent count. They have a $1.4 billion payroll.
STEVEN A. McCALEB
COMMENTARY
MY OPINION