The 911th Military Airlift Wing at Pittsburgh International Airport now has just one more hurdle to clear before its future is assured.

President Bush signed off yesterday on the report of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Congress now has 45 days in which it can reject, but not amend, the report. If Congress takes no action, the recommendations automatically become law.

The commission rejected the Pentagon's recommendation that the 911th be closed, voting instead to establish a Regional Joint Readiness Center at the base.

The Regional Joint Readiness Center will bring together area military units with federal agencies involved in homeland security as well as Pittsburgh hospitals and research universities to plan for emergencies such as a major terrorist attack on an East Coast city.

The Joint Readiness Center concept was devised by the Pit-BRAC Task Force, a coalition of Western Pennsylvania community leaders. The Pittsburgh center will be the first in the nation.

Nationally, the commission said its recommendations would mean annual savings of $4.2 billion, compared with $5.4 billion under the plan it received in May from Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld had recommended closing 33 major bases and realigning 29 others.

The Pentagon had wanted to move the eight C-130H aircraft of the 911th to Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina, but the commission recommended in its report that the "optimum" number of C-130s required to support the Regional Joint Readiness Center be stationed in Pittsburgh.

Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., who suggested the wording that the commission used in its report, said he had received assurances that the 911th would have at least eight aircraft and probably more.

The commission accepted the Pentagon's recommendation to close the Charles E. Kelly Support Facility in Oakdale, but most of its functions will be moved to the Army Reserve Center in Moon.

The commission also accepted the Pentagon's recommendation to move the 99th Regional Readiness Command headquarters from Moon to Fort Dix, N.J.

In a conference call announcing that the president had signed the commission report, Santorum described it as a "mixed bag" for Pennsylvania. He praised retention of the 911th but expressed regret that the Willow Grove Naval Air Station near Philadelphia is to be closed and the 99th command headquarters is to be moved.

The Pentagon has as long as five years to implement the commission recommendations.