WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defying a veto threat, the House of Representatives on Thursday backed a two-year delay of the Bush administration's plan to close and consolidate a number of U.S. military installations across the country.
Debating the giant $422 billion bill authorizing defense programs, the House rejected 259-162 an amendment that would have kept on track the administration's plans to start a round of base closures in 2005.
Instead, it backed the House Armed Services Committee plan to delay the base realignment process by two years.
The White House on Wednesday threatened to veto the huge defense authorization bill -- which also lays the groundwork to give the Pentagon an additional $25 billion for Iraq operations -- if the final version blocked or delayed the base realignment effort.
The Pentagon says the plan will save tens of billions of dollars and better focus the military against post-Cold War threats.
But the potential closing or downsizing of military bases, and the economic hit to communities near those bases, is a hot political issue in states with a number of installations this election year.
The Senate, also debating its version of the defense authorization bill this week, on Tuesday narrowly defeated an amendment that would have blocked the administration's base realignment plan.
Differences in the two bills eventually will be worked out in a House-Senate conference before final legislation is sent to President Bush.
"We cannot afford that risk of a veto," said Rep. Mark Kennedy, a Minnesota Republican who backed the White House's base closure plan.
"The critical nature of our war on terrorism and our military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan demand we go forward with BRAC," Kennedy said, using the shorthand for the base realignment program.
The administration estimated delaying the consolidation by two years would waste as much as $16 billion in lost savings, Kennedy said.
But opponents said it was the wrong time to close bases, with conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. And they said it had steep initial costs before savings kick in years later.
"It sends the wrong message to our men and women in uniform to close bases at a time when we are at war. When this BRAC was designed, Congress had no idea that we would be fighting the war against terrorism," said Rep. Jo Ann Davis, a Virginia Republican.
"Do you want to spend $5 billion more to for the next five years to close bases, or do we want to give the young men and women who are serving in Afghanistan and Iraq today the body armor and the Humvee armor that they need to protect themselves," said Rep. Charles Pickering, a Mississippi Republican.
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