A facility that has helped provide training and services for thousands of Pittsburgh-area service members may be closed. 

Part of a spending bill in Washington could close down the Navy Reserve Center near the 911th Airlift Wing. According to the legislation, they no longer meet the needs of the Navy. 

In a bipartisan letter, Congressman Chris Deluzio says the closing of more than 100 of the centers in the National Defense Authorization Act will add more administrative work to the reservists.

"It's important that cities and regions like ours have these reserve centers so that people can keep their ties to the fleet if we need to mobilize them for active-duty service," Deluzio said.

Retired Navy Captain Bryon King said if you put more of the burden on the reservists themselves, that could push them out of serving their country. Other services like orders, medical readiness and security clearances could become more open to mistakes without the centers, according to the congressman's letter.

"At the end of their enlistment, they're going to say, 'This has been a pain in the neck, I'm out of here.'  They're not going to renew," King said.

As the current administration pushes for tighter budgets, proponents of closing the facilities say they are antiquated, wasteful and ineffective. The report that went along with the bill says they also decrease mobilization readiness.

"Let's streamline operations. If there are places we can make them better, save a few bucks, if that's important to the public, let's do that. I think closing them would be foolish and end up costing us more," Congressman Deluzio said.

Beyond just reservists, former center commanding officers say they also serve veterans with their needs.

"Not only for drilling reservists, our retirees use the reserve center to get ID cards, to get questions answered," former Navy Reserve Center Commanding Officer Pauline Bozdech-Veater said.

The House version of this spending bill did not call for this cut. KDKA-TV reached out to Republican members of the Pittsburgh-area's congressional delegation on this matter.

Here is the full letter from Congressman Deluzio and his colleagues in the House:

"Dear Chairman Rogers, Ranking Member Smith, Chairman Wicker, and Ranking Member Reed:

"As negotiations for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) continue, we respectfully request that Section 512 of the Senate passed NDAA be omitted from the final bill. Sec. 512 directs the Secretary of the Navy to disestablish the Navy Reserve Center (NRC) system, shuttering the 107 commands that provide administrative support and serve as home for the approximately 48,000 Navy Selected Reserve (SELRES) Sailors nationwide.

"The elimination of NRCs, which exist in every state, will significantly increase the administrative workload for individual reservists and will decrease overall readiness for our Navy Reserve. Orders, medical readiness, security clearances, and more will become more prone to error, subject to delays, and burdensome to accomplish. The nationwide footprint of our Navy will be diminished, and the Navy will lose important connections with the American people in places where the active duty Navy is not present. Many communities cherish the outreach and services that the NRCs provide. From volunteering at veterans homes to providing military funeral support, NRCs are excellent stewards of the Navy's core values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment, and represent the high ideals of national service.

"If there are problems with the current force structure of the Navy Reserve that require action, then the Navy should identify those issues to the Congress along with their plans to fix them. We should not assume that eliminating NRCs will not lead to a loss of capabilities for individual SELRES commands operating at NRCs. We also fear that eliminating NRCs would have a disastrous impact on overall recruitment and retention of the Navy Reserve.

"We commend your continued leadership and support for our Navy and its Sailors, and respectfully oppose inclusion of Senate-passed Sec. 512 in the NDAA."