[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 31, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H897]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1010
           MORGAN COUNTY, WV, NEEDS ASSISTANCE FROM CONGRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gillmor). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 4, 1995, the gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. Wise] 
is recognized during morning business for 3 minutes.
  Mr. WISE. Mr. Speaker, I come before you today to ask this body to 
help make government make some common sense.
  Let me announce something to you right here: Last week by order of 
the Morgan County Commission, and Morgan County is a rural county about 
2 hours' drive from here, a beautiful county, and Berkeley Springs many 
of you know for its waters, by action of the Morgan County Commission, 
Federal overflights are now prohibited in Morgan County airspace. 
Everyone laughs and says, ``How can Morgan County do that?''
  You understand, of course, the Morgan County Commission understands 
it cannot deny airspace. Only the Federal Aviation Administration can 
do that. It is trying to send a message, and the message is this: ``Why 
will not the U.S. Air Force, the Air National Guard, pay the $10,886.20 
that it owes to the Morgan County Commission when the Morgan County 
Commission and the emergency responders in Morgan County responded to 
the Air Force's need?''
  Basically the story is this. In 1992 we suffered a real tragedy in 
the eastern panhandle of our State, when one of the C-130's from the 
167th Air Wing based in Martinsburg crashed in Morgan County. Six 
crewmen were killed.
  The county and, or course, the entire eastern panhandle responded 
immediately with emergency response and all the cleanup that needed to 
be done afterward as well as reaching out to the families and to the 
167th Air Wing. The air wing and the members of the 167th Air Wing are 
not at issue here. What is at issue is what some bureaucrats in 
Washington is telling the Morgan County Commission, that despite the 
effort, despite the spontaneity, despite the outreach, despite the 
considerable resources expended by the Morgan County Commission by the 
emergency providers in Morgan County, the Air Force will not now 
reimburse $10,886.20 for containment and cleanup of hazardous materials 
at that crash site.
  This is not a county that can easily afford this kind of expenditure.
  Now, what is the cost here, the 10,886.20? For the Air Force it is 
going to be less than the litigation to litigate this issue. For the 
Air Force, it is going to be less than the public relations debacle 
that they are going to suffer. For the Air Force, I suspect it is 
probably less than five rivets on a B-2 bomber.
  The problem with the Morgan County Commission is that when they 
submitted this voucher, they did not add enough zeroes. That is my 
opinion. If they had put two more zeroes, made it $100,000, maybe made 
it $10 million, probably somebody would have paid it without a blink of 
an eye. That sounds reasonable. They did not pad it, did not add 
zeroes, did not add to it. They just asked to be reimbursed for what 
they expended.
  I am asking this body to help send a message to the Air Force. We 
think you owe Morgan County $10,886.20. We think you ought to show the 
small and large communities across this country when they do respond 
you will be there to help them and to help reimburse them for their 
efforts. We think you ought to show Morgan County that, yes, they are 
entitled to this which they have waited 2 years for already and how 
many more years to go.
  I ask this body's help in having the Air Force and the Air National 
Guard in Washington respond with some common sense.
  I will keep you posted, Mr. Speaker, because I have a feeling this 
saga has not ended yet.

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