A plan to close and reconfigure hundreds of military bases is sailing through Congress, on track to take effect next month in a blow to communities hoping for an eleventh-hour reprieve.

In a long-shot attempt to halt the first round of base closings in a decade, the House planned a vote today on a proposal to reject the final report of the 2005 base-closing commission. Even base-closing opponents considered the effort certain to fail, like Congress’ attempts to stop the four previous rounds.

To kill the process, the Senate also would have to veto the report – and the chances of that are slim to none. In both chambers, opposition has been muted by the elimination of several major bases from the Pentagon’s original list of closures and the recent focus on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.