"It's going to give us about four or five roads to take down, one could be terribly nasty and the others could be enjoyable," Bishop said. "No one knows what that will be until the actual report is out."

The base closure commission is the only group that can make changes to Rumsfeld's list.

President Bush must either accept the commission's recommendations in full or reject them all by Sept. 15. If the president wants any changes, he can return it to the commission with suggestions (which the commission may accept or revise by Oct. 20). A final decision by the president on any modified list must come by Nov. 7.

Once the president's final list is sent to Congress, it has 45 legislative days — or until adjournment for the year — to accept or reject the list as a whole. Like the president, Congress cannot make any changes to the list. If it is not rejected, the list become final.

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Contributing: Associated Press

E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com