GovernmentExecutive.com

Members of Congress continue to fire every conceivable arrow in their quivers when it comes to trying to change the Pentagon's base-closing proposals. Friday, Sens. Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico teamed up to take issue with how the decision about Cannon Air Force Base in the state will be decided. The problem, the senators say, is that at least two members of the independent base closure commission might have to recuse themselves from voting on whether to close Cannon, because the vote could affect their home states. That means only seven of nine commissioners would be left to vote on the base's status, and five votes are needed to remove a facility from the closure list. Domenici and Bingaman say that's not fair, and (of course) they have suggestions for modifying the process--for example, by requiring only a simple majority vote to remove a base.