Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

President Bush nominated eight people to serve on 2005’s Defense Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission. Their names will now go to Capitol Hill for Senate confirmation. Anthony Principi, former secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, is President Bush's choice to chair the commission. Principi has been cleared by the Senate Armed Services Committee, and the Senate is poised to act on his nomination early next month. Another eight nominees await action.

Former Nevada Rep. James H. Bilbray, who was a member of committees on foreign affairs, armed services and intelligence;
Philip Coyle of California, a senior adviser to the Center for Defense Information;
Retired Navy Adm. Harold W. Gehman Jr. of Virginia;
Former Utah Rep. James V. Hansen, who served on the House Armed Services Committee;
Retired Army Gen. James T. Hill of Florida;
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Claude M. Kicklighter, assistant secretary for policy and planning at the Veterans Affairs Department;
Samuel Knox Skinner of Illinois, who served as President George H.W. Bush’s chief of staff and as secretary of transportation; and,
Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Sue Ellen Turner of Texas, a member of the American Battle Monuments Commission.

In his confirmation hearing, Principi told lawmakers that at least one member of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure commission will visit each community on the base closing list for discussions before the plan is sent to the president. Other nominees for the Commission, set to be confirmed in the next few weeks, include:

To read more about the nominees, click here.