Ogden has failed to attract one of 25 new consolidated military finance and accounting centers - and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, charges that politics is to blame.
He also said it is a bad omen for upcoming base-closure battles that threaten Hill Air Force Base.The Defense Department plans to consolidate 300 such centers into 25 and announced its site selections late Tuesday. Ogden was not among them.
Hatch said it should have been because nearby Hill Air Force Base, Defense Depot Ogden and military contractors account for many of the military contracts in the Mountain West.
For example, he said, "Ogden clearly rates higher than Denver (one of the winners) in cost to the government, customer service, reuse of surplus government facilities and quality labor supply - the four standards used for selection."
He added, "The annual defense payroll for Davis County is $530 million, almost twice that of Denver County and Denver City. Add Utah's lower wage rate and the fact that Utah is the nation's leading software center . . . (and it) should prove that Ogden should have been one of the sites."
But Hatch said, "Denver is represented by Democrat (Rep.) Pat Schroeder, a member of the House Armed Services Committee" - and suggested politics may have helped it win.
Of course, Ogden is represented by Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Utah, who is also a member of the House Armed Services - but is not a member of the majority party.
"Just as bad was the selection of Loring Air Force Base in Maine, 400 miles north of Boston on the Canadian border. Where will skilled labor be found? With Sen. George Mitchell (D-Maine) retiring, it looks as if the Clinton administration is getting a political head start," Hatch said.
He added, "This is a prologue to base closings next year and why it is important to defer the process to 1997."