WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Senator Bob Casey today wrote the Senate Armed Services Committee to urge a speedy approval of plans to build a replacement Commissary to serve military personnel, families and veterans in Southwestern Pennsylvania. In the letter sent to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) and Ranking Member John McCain (R-AZ) as well as Personnel Subcommittee Chairman Jim Webb (D-VA) and Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Senator Casey offered to provide assistance on the importance of the project for Southwestern Pennsylvania.
“It has come to my attention that the final decision on the Commissary and Post Exchange is now pending with the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel,” said Senator Casey. “I appreciate the Committee’s commitment to oversight and gladly offer my services to provide any additional support or clarification that the Committee may need.”
Senator Casey helped to secure funding for the new Commissary. Funding for this project is currently being reviewed by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Senator Casey has been a long-time supporter of the Commissary and Post Exchange project and of providing continuous services to the military personnel, military families and veterans in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Since he arrived in the Senate in 2007, he has worked with the Pennsylvania delegation from the Pittsburgh area as well as House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Mark Critz (D-PA), to advocate for the project.
Senator Casey continued, “The building of a new Commissary and Post Exchange would allow many regional servicemembers to avoid the need to travel nearly 400 miles round trip to Carlisle, Pennsylvania or Dayton, Ohio in order to have access to the services they lost. Ensuring that our servicemembers are supported is a goal that I know we share in common. Therefore, I would appreciate your attentiveness to this issue and I look forward to working with the Committee on making this Commissary and Post Exchange a reality”
The full letter is below:
Dear Chairmen and Ranking Members:
Following the 2005 BRAC decision to close the Charles E. Kelly Support Facility (CEKSF) in Oakdale, Pennsylvania, more than 168,000 eligible military personnel and veterans were in jeopardy of losing the Morale, Welfare and Recreation operations as well as the Commissary, Post Exchange, and Military Clothing Sales Store (MCSS) services that they had come to rely on. While many of my constituents as well as those from West Virginia, Ohio and Maryland came to terms with the BRAC decision, many also cited the hardship this decision would have on those servicemembers and their families who have faced multiple deployments in our operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
For these reasons, I remain committed to ensuring that these essential services are provided. I along with other members of the Pennsylvanian delegation have worked to bring a replacement Commissary and Post Exchange close to Pittsburgh International Airport. This airport is located in the vicinity of other military assets such as the 911th Airlift Wing, 171st Air Refueling Wing-National Guard, and the U.S. Army Reserve Center, which will help to provide a seamless and convenient transition from CEKSF.
It has come to my attention that the final decision on the Commissary and Post Exchange is now pending with the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel. I appreciate the Committee’s commitment to oversight and gladly offer my services to provide any additional support or clarification that the Committee may need.
The building of a new Commissary and Post Exchange would allow many regional servicemembers to avoid the need to travel nearly 400 miles round trip to Carlisle, Pennsylvania or Dayton, Ohio in order to have access to the services they lost. Ensuring that our servicemembers are supported is a goal that I know we share in common. Therefore, I would appreciate your attentiveness to this issue and I look forward to working with the Committee on making this Commissary and Post Exchange a reality.
Sincerely,
Robert P. Casey, Jr.
United States Senate
