Bill Text: HI SCR3 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Force Reduction; Schofield Barracks and Fort Shafter; Opposition

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Passed) 2015-06-16 - Certified copies of resolutions sent, 06-16-15. [SCR3 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2015-SCR3-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	3
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

strongly opposing the united states army's proposed force reduction of schofield barracks and fort shafter bases.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, as part of its 2020 Force Structure Realignment, the United States Army is currently considering a proposal to eliminate 16,606 active duty soldiers from Schofield Barracks and 3,786 active duty soldiers from Fort Shafter on the island of Oahu; and

 

     WHEREAS, our nation's re-balance to the Pacific has real consequence to Hawaii because our State's economic security is directly linked to our national security; and

 

     WHEREAS, to date, more than $9,000,000,000 has been spent to reposition assets and capabilities into the Asia Pacific region; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States military has signed a defense cooperation agreement with the Philippines; placed two additional U.S. Navy destroyers in, and deployed tilt-rotor Osprey aircrafts and Global Hawk drones to, Japan; and the Marine Corps is rotating troops in Australia, as plans move forward to relocate marines from Okinawa, Japan, to Guam and then Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, North Korea is a "notoriously unpredictable and dangerous nation" and China's aggressive military growth, its lack of transparency, and its pattern of increasingly assertive behavior in the region make the need for a visible American presence all the more important, with Hawaii as a critical forward deployment location; and

     WHEREAS, the United States Army's Pacific Pathways plan to strengthen capabilities and assets in the Pacific region is an integral part of our national defense strategy; and

 

     WHEREAS, a reduction in Hawaii based troops will undermine the priority placed on a strong "boots on the ground presence" in the Pacific region; and

 

     WHEREAS, the number of active duty soldiers on Oahu will be reduced by at least 19,800 due to the proposed force reduction, which will result in a reduction of approximately 30,000 civilian family members; and

 

     WHEREAS, the force reduction would reduce Oahu's total population by five percent and will affect and reduce, by thirty-eight percent, the populations of the communities surrounding Schofield Barracks, including Mililani, Wahiawa, Waialua, and Kunia; and

 

     WHEREAS, such a population loss will severely impact the local construction, retail, and real estate industries and professional, scientific, and technical services by an estimated loss of 20,000 jobs; and

 

     WHEREAS, the total economic impact of the proposed force reduction will gravely hurt Hawaii's economy due to an estimated payroll loss of $1,350,000,000; a loss of $400,000,000 in military construction funding; and an estimated loss of $9,200,000 in general excise tax revenues; and

 

     WHEREAS, the proposed reduction will adversely affect the population, economy, and schools of Central Oahu, and Honolulu communities as a whole; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislature strongly opposes the United States Army's 2020 Force Structure Realignment proposal as it affects Schofield Barracks and Fort Shafter located on the island of Oahu; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the United States Army Environmental Command-Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Army 2020 Force Structure Realignment; Commanding General of the United States Army Pacific; Commanding General of the 25^th Infantry Division; members of Hawaii's congressional delegation; the Governor; Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Adjutant General; Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu; Chairperson of the Honolulu City Council; and Chairperson of the Military Affairs Council of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Force Reduction; Schofield Barracks and Fort Shafter; Opposition