8/2/2005, 4:04 p.m. PT
The Associated Press
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Gov. Ted Kulongoski threatened on Tuesday to sue the Department of Defense if the government transfers fighter planes and personnel from the Portland Air National Guard base.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Kulongoski cited federal statutes he said required his consent for such a move. "I do not consent to deactivation, relocation or withdrawal of the 142nd Fighter Wing," he wrote.
"Given Oregon's geographic location and unquestionable need for air superiority in the Pacific Northwest, this recommendation places the entire region at risk if it is accepted," Kulongoski wrote.
"It is my present intention to file a lawsuit in Oregon's federal district court seeking injunctive and declaratory relief to stop the proposed actions."Under the Pentagon plan, 15 F-15 fighter jets operated by the fighter wing would be transferred from Portland to New Jersey and Louisiana, and eight KC-135 tankers flown by the 939th Air Refueling Wing would go to Oklahoma and Kansas.
State officials estimate it could cost up to 1,000 jobs in Oregon.
The proposal is part of moves announced by the Pentagon in mid-May to close 33 bases and downsize 29 others to save an estimated $48 billion over 20 years.
Pennsylvania and Illinois also have filed lawsuits seeking to block federal plans to close or reduce Guard installations, and Kulongoski said governors of several other states are considering similar legal action over the base-closing plans.
An independent commission is reviewing the Pentagon's proposal.
In June, Republican Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon told the commission the Pentagon's plans will leave just a handful of planes to defend "a target-rich environment," citing the dams on the Columbia River, the Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot and the Hanford nuclear site.
The commission, which has said it will not be a "rubber stamp" for Pentagon recommendations, has until Sept. 8 to present its proposals to President Bush.