* chooses Principi (from Pfizer) for Base Closure commission (Hmmm...)

[The Straight Story]

Bush chooses former VA chief for BRAC commission

By George Cahlink
[e-mail]
Former Veteran Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi will be nominated by President Bush to lead the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission, the White House has announced.

Principi, 60, stepped down as VA chief in December and now is a vice president for pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer Corp. Previously, the decorated Vietnam veteran served as general counsel for the Senate Armed Services and Senate Veterans Affairs committees. He also held an executive post with defense giant Lockheed Martin Corp.

If approved by the Senate, Principi would head a nine-member panel charged with evaluating the Pentagon's plans for closing and realigning domestic military bases. By March 15, the President and congressional leaders must submit nominees to the Senate for the BRAC panel.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., has already nominated retired Army Gen. John Coburn and retired Adm. Harold Gehman; while House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., has picked former Transportation Secretary Samuel Skinner and former Rep. James Hansen, R-Utah.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0305/030705g1.htm