[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 111 (Monday, August 2, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1712]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CONCERN FOR RESIDENTS OF VIEQUES, PUERTO RICO

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, August 2, 1999

  Mr. BURTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the forefront a 
very important issue that has not been given the attention it deserves 
by this Congress. More than 9,000 American citizens, living on the 
island of Vieques, live in fear. But, it isn't a fear of drug 
trafficking. It isn't a fear of violent gangs or terrorism either. Our 
fellow citizens live in fear of our own military, and I would like to 
explain why.
  For more than 50 years, the residents of Vieques, Puerto Rico, an 
island encompassing fewer than 52 square miles of which the Navy 
occupies 35 square miles, have had to endure live military ammunition 
and bombing exercises. Vieques is the largest area in the Western 
hemisphere used for military exercises with live ammunition, and the 
only place where bombing still occurs near a substantial civilian 
population. For years, the residents of Vieques have expressed their 
concerns about the negative impact that the bombing and live ammunition 
exercises are having on their health and safety. Unfortunately, their 
voices have not been heard and that concerns me. On April 19, 1999, the 
people of Vieques raised their voices once again, this time in despair. 
It was on that date, during routine military practices conducted by two 
Navy F/A-18 Hornet jets, that two bombs were accidentally dropped near 
an observation post manned by civilian security guards. As a result, a 
security guard was killed and four others were wounded. I believe that 
if the citizens of Puerto Rico had equal representation in Congress, 
legitimate concerns for their safety and health would have been better 
safeguarded.
  Since that accident, the Navy has temporarily ceased military 
maneuvers while an investigation is carried out, and Puerto Rico's 
Governor, the Honorable Pedro Rossello, appointed a Commission that 
investigated the incident and reported its findings to the President's 
Special Panel on Military Operations on Vieques on July 9, 1999. The 
Governor's Commission unanimously concluded that it is not possible to 
protect the people of Vieques, or the environment, from the extreme 
danger posed by live ammunition testing. The Navy argues that Vieques 
is a unique site for training exercises with live ammunition, making it 
essential to our National security. I've always worked to protect our 
National security, however, it should never be achieved at the expense 
of the personal rights or safety of our own citizens. The only solution 
may be to end permanently the military's live ammunition testing on 
Vieques.
  No one in this House would tolerate what the military is doing on 
Vieques if it were taking place in our Congressional district, and 
neither would our constituents. Imagine trying to explain to the voters 
why they should welcome the bombardment of their communities with live 
ammunition. Try convincing your constituents to accept, and in return 
thank you, for having uranium-coated bombs dropped within a few miles 
of their homes, schools, hospitals, and public parks. Imagine asking 
your constituents to accept having their children attend classrooms 
which reverberate during the school day as live shells explode nearby. 
No one in this chamber would permit the continuation of a practice by 
our own military that endangers the lives of the very people we have 
been elected to represent.
  There's a reality about Puerto Rico, one that is wonderful and 
abhorrent at the same time. The people of Puerto Rico are truly 
American citizens, part of America's great democracy, and that is 
wonderful. However, the people of Puerto Rico currently lack the single 
most important tool that our democracy provides, two Senators and a 
voting delegation in the House of Representatives, and that is 
abhorrent. It is precisely because the people of Puerto Rico don't have 
equal representation in Congress that they need our help now. If they 
had real representation here, the military would have the proper 
incentive to solve the problem of live ammunition testing on Vieques. I 
trust that my colleagues in the House of Representatives would agree 
with me. If this practice were occurring in any one of the fifty 
States, I know we would all stand together to oppose it. We owe our 
fellow American citizens in Puerto Rico the same level of respect. They 
deserve nothing less. In fact, their safety and their lives may depend 
on it.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly encourage my colleagues to take a hard look 
at this issue.

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