Naval Air Station open.

The Hon. Sir John Swan was to meet separately with House Armed Services committee chairman Rep. Ron Dellumns and recently-appointed Secretary of the Navy Mr. John Dalton.

Rep. Dellumns drafted a bill due to go before the House of Representatives this week that would cut off funding for the US Base at St. David's 90 days after its passage.

The bill is contrary to the base agreement that specifies at least one year's notice, but "they could alter that agreement'', Sir John said yesterday of the Americans.

Even a year's notice would be too little, the Premier said. If the Base had to close, he would push for as much time as possible.

On Friday, Sir John returned from Brussels, where he met with leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which recently invested $32 million in a new hangar and runway and other improvements at the American base.

NATO Secretary General Dr. Manfred Woerner pledged his support, subject to a military assessment of the value of the Base.

"Having now talked to NATO, and NATO feeling that an abrupt closure of the base would not be something that they would endorse, I will try to convince the Americans that they should not act in haste on the closure of the base,'' Sir John told The Royal Gazette .

"It's a question where we just have to keep on pressing ahead.'' Sir John said he would not see Admiral Paul Miller, NATO Supreme Allied Commander for the Atlantic because he was away.

The Premier is to return to the Island on Wednesday amid speculation that he will call a general election this week for October 7.

If he dropped the writ after his return, it would allow for a three-week campaign before an October 7 poll.