Representing the
1st District of South Carolina
1st District of South Carolina
Congressman
Henry E. Brown, Jr.
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Representing the
1st District of South Carolina Congressman |
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Maintaining our National Defense
The First District of South Carolina plays a crucial role in our nation's defense. Charleston is the premier logistics hub for the military, and from C-17s flying daily out of Charleston Air Force Base to ships leaving the Just as the First District has a long history of serving our nation, Congressman Brown has a long history in Congress supporting our troops. Be it ensuring they have the protective vehicles they need to survive IDE attacks in Iraq to fighting the Pentagon bureaucracy to ensure that there are the C-17s needed to keep supplying our troops, Congressman Brown knows the important role that Congress must play in ensuring our national defense. A visitor to Iraq and Afghanistan, Congressman Brown is pleased to see that there continues to be positive movement in both of those countries. The leadership of General David Petraeus and the rest of his team at US Central Command have made significant progress in not only going after the insurgents in Iraq, but also working to make major improvement to the Iraqi security forces so they can continue to secure more of their country on their own. The Obama Administration has made the right steps towards similar success in Afghanistan, and Congressman Brown stands ready to give our troops the support they need to get the job done. As the representative of an area that is home to some many servicemembers, Congressman Brown always works to ensure that their needs are met, from equipment on the battlefield to facilites here at home. He and Senator Graham led the fight to bring a new base Child Development Center to the Charleston Air Force Base, and Congressman Brown continues to work with the local leadership of the First District's military bases on important new military construction projects to ensure that these important facilities are best positioned to keep doing their job for our military long into the future. From 9/11 to February 2009, there have been almost 80,000 C-17 departures from Charleston AFB, moving more than 1.25 billion pounds of supplies. Aircraft flying out of Charleston AFB have shipped more than 3,000 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs) into Iraq and Afghanistan. Ensuring these vehicles get to our warfighters is a top priority of the Defense Department. October 8, 2009 June 16, 2009 May 14, 2009 September 25, 2008 September 25, 2008 September 9, 2008 June 19, 2008 May 15, 2008 September 18, 2007 September 11, 2007 September 10, 2007 May 24, 2007 May 17, 2007 May 2, 2007 January 23, 2007 January 10, 2007 Category:DefensePosted by: Brown Staff (May 12, 2009, 04:49 PM)
I am proud to support H.R.1178, legislation that unanimously passed the House of Representatives today requiring an assessment of how the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) can support homeland security missions. Posted in Defense, Homeland Security | View Full Posting
Budget Passes House and Senate with NO GOP Votes Posted by: Brown Staff (April 03, 2009, 10:52 AM)
Last night the President's Budget passed the House and Senate with NO Republican votes in either chamber. Posted in Defense, Economy, Energy, Environment and Wildlife, Health Care, Homeland Security, Retirement, Taxes | View Full Posting
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: TIME NAMES CHARLESTON #2 SPOT TO RELOCATE GITMO DETAINEES Posted by: Brown Staff (January 23, 2009, 06:00 PM)
If Not Gitmo, Then Where Should Terror Detainees Be Held? http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1873669,00.html With President Barack Obama having ordered the closure of the Guantanamo Bay military detention facility within a year, the U.S. faces the challenge of finding a new lockup for terrorism suspects currently behind bars, and those captured in future. Reports released by the Pentagon, the Center for American Progress, and Human Rights Watch, among others, have recommended several possible sites, most of them in military bases. But moving the Gitmo inmates almost anywhere on U.S. soil would likely set off a political firestorm. Pennsylvania congressman John Murtha, a Democrat, is ready to see the captives moved to his own state, saying they would be "no more dangerous in my district than in Guantanamo." His constituents are far from convinced. Some see an economic benefit, because building a maximum-security prison would provide jobs. But others don't want terror suspects in their backyard. Diane Gramley, president of the 12,000-member American Family Association of Pennsylvania, has described Murtha's idea as "ludicrous." (See pictures from inside Guantanamo) And Murtha is rare among legislators on Capitol Hill in his willingness to have the suspects incarcerated in his district. Most are vociferously opposed to the idea. Possible Gitmo replacement sites include: 1. U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, and Senator Sam Brownback, a Republican, have publicly opposed the idea of bringing Gitmo inmates to Leavenworth, which is in close proximity to its surrounding community, including an airport, farms, and hospitals. Brownback, terming such a transfer as "unwise and unsafe," has also introduced legislation calling for 90 days notice prior to transferring enemy combatants to another possible site, in Charleston, SC. 2. U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, South Carolina 3. Camp Pendleton, San Diego, CA Hunter introduced legislation on Thursday to prohibit the transfer of Gitmo inmates to Pendelton or to the nearby Miramar Air Station. "Redirecting these detainees to Camp Pendleton would present a serious threat to surrounding military installations and resources, as well as the community's civilian population," Hunter wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates earlier this month. 4. Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar, San Diego, CA Miramar was included in the bill introduced by Congressman Hunter to prohibit transferring Guantanamo detainees to existing facilities, or to construct new detention facilities in the same areas. 5. U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility, Florence, CO The 37-acre prison has 490 beds and at present holds 430 prisoners. Like Leavenworth, it has solitary confinement units enclosed by steel doors. Extreme security is enhanced by motion detectors, cameras, laser beams, attack dogs, 1,400 remote-controlled steel doors and 12-foot high razor wire fences throughout the facility. 6. Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City, NY Posted in Berkeley County, Charleston County, Defense, Homeland Security, Terrorist Detainees | View Full Posting
Obama Signs Executive Order to Close Guantanamo; Brown: Congress Should Have Final Say Posted by: Brown Staff (January 22, 2009, 03:36 PM)
Today, President Obama signed an executive order beginning the process that will eventually close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (you can read the executive order here). Many in the Congress, the press, and the security community have raised the point that this closure brings with it more questions than it answers - most importantly, what will happen to the detainees? With the Naval Brig at Charleston continually named one of the possible locations for the eventual transfer of these detainees, Congressman Brown today clearly stated that any future decision for housing these detainees must be made by Congress and not a Washington bureaucrat: "...while this executive order officially closes the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, it is essential that these individuals, some of the most dangerous terrorists captured during the War on Terror, only be moved after a full evaluation of all available and appropriate locations...Congress should have the final say as to where these most dangerous detainees are held if they move to the US, not the Washington bureaucrats. After all, the members of Congress are the ones who will potentially be moving the most dangerous residents of Guantanamo into their own backyards." You can read the rest of the Congressman's statement here. Posted in Berkeley County, Charleston County, Defense, Homeland Security, Terrorist Detainees | View Full Posting
What is around the Brig in Charleston? Posted by: Brown Staff (January 22, 2009, 09:43 AM)
The Consolidated Naval Brig in Charleston, with some critical infrastructure elements highlighted: Posted in Berkeley County, Charleston County, Defense, Homeland Security, Terrorist Detainees | View Full Posting
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docks at the Charleston Naval Weapons Statino full of equipment for our warfighters, TEAM CHARLESTON is critically important to our military, its fight against terror, and the welfare of our soliders, sailors, marines, and airmen deployed abroad.