Iowa lawmakers get reassurances about defense plants

Eastern Iowa lawmakers have gotten some reassurance about a government proposal to make big changes at some government defense plants. The flap arose after a memo was made public proposing to combine or sell off some big government facilities that could include the Rock Island arsenal. It’s a big factor in the region’s economy, though employment at the arsenal has shrunk to 13-hundred workers. Leaders worry that selling the plant to some private operator or consolidating it with another facility could further starve the arsenal of business. The memo they worry about indicates a November 29th date for an “action plan” to be in place. Yesterday, Army Secretary Thomas White told Illinois and Iowa congressmen that they’d be consulted before the Army makes any move to privatize or consolidate arsenals and ammunition plants.