U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has requested another round of base closures, potentially threatening the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Panetta asked Congress to authorize the Base Realignment and Closure process on Jan. 26.

The last round of BRAC closures came in 2005, when the Pentagon recommended closing the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Following a bipartisan outpouring of support, the BRAC Commission overturned that recommendation. Panetta did not detail which bases he’d like to see closed this time around.

Senate delegates from New Hampshire and Maine were quick to denounce the new BRAC proposal. U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) released a joint statement against Panetta’s request. They said a new round of BRAC closures would be detrimental to national defense and national finances.

“Having only last fall completed the implementation of the 2005 BRAC process, it is abundantly clear that the costs of the BRAC round were far greater than predicted, and that the annual savings were far smaller than expected,” the delegation said. “In fact, according to a November 2009 Government Accountability Office report, the 2005 round cost the nation nearly $35 billion.”

Shaheen traveled to the Shipyard on Jan. 27 and met with workers to express her support.

The yard has been in operation for almost 200 years and employs roughly 4,500 civilians. It’s the oldest continuously operating shipyard in the country.