By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis – U.S. Senate candidate Blair Hull made several campaign appearances in the Metro East Tuesday.
Hull, a Democrat from Chicago, began by touring Scott Air Force Base, where concerns over a potential closure are again surfacing.
The last time the base faced the possibility of closure was in 1995. Since then, Scott has added a new runway and control tower.
Hull says those and other amenities improve the base's chances of weathering the next Base Realignment and Closure process, known as "BRAC."
"The fact that you've extended Metro is a big asset to the base," Hull said. The fact that the Department of Defense, I just saw, is building 500 homes [is] a good sign that Scott will survive this next BRAC."
Congress is now finalizing its standards for the next round of base closures, which may come sometime in late 2005.