[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 27 (Thursday, February 13, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                WESTERN ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY OFFICE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DENNIS R. REHBERG

                               of montana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 13, 2003

  Mr. REHBERG. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call the attention of Members of 
the House to critical federal programs conducted at the Western 
Environmental Technology Office, or WETO, located in Butte, Montana. 
These programs involving the National Energy Technology Laboratory are 
funded under Energy and Water Development Appropriations.
  First, I want to commend Chairman Hobson and Ranking Member 
Visclosky, and the members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on 
Energy and Water Development, for their action to restore over $11 
million in funds that were eliminated from the FY 2003 budget for the 
U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science and Technology, within 
the Environmental Management program. The Office of Science and 
Technology has a critical mission in providing cost effective 
technology to clean up contaminated federal property across the 
country, and it deserves the strong support of the Congress.
  I continue to be very concerned, however, about the likely adverse 
effects of proposed Office of Science and Technology cutbacks on our 
nation's ability to perform cost effective and timely remediation of 
the DOE's contaminated sites around the country.
  More specifically, I am concerned about the continuation of the 
important work of DOE's Western Environmental Technology Office. At the 
WETO facility, the National Energy Technology Laboratory provides 
critical support to DOE's Office of Science and Technology. Their 
activities help facilitate DOE's demonstration, evaluation and 
implementation of technologies that promise to provide much-needed 
solutions to the environmental cleanup challenges at various DOE sites.
  DOE's Research and Development contract for the Western Environmental 
Technology Office, originally awarded in FY 1997, has been extended 
through the end of FY 2004.
  That contract extension provided that DOE would fund WETO at the 
following levels: $6 million in FY 2002, $6 million in FY 2003, and $4 
million in FY 2004. However, in FY 2002 WETO received only $5 million, 
$1 million short of the DOE's contractual obligation.
  It is critically important to preserve this commitment to WETO and 
continue funding on schedule at a rate that will account for last 
year's shortfall.
  I would add that the operations and activities of WETO are very 
important to the economy in Montana. Many professionals have chosen 
western Montana as their home while they serve our nation's challenge 
to clean up contaminated DOE sites.
  Mr. Speaker, I would submit to my colleagues that when the Department 
of Energy makes contracts for multi-year programs in such important 
areas as WETO, where the Department's Science and Technology Office is 
developing and implementing technologies to remediate contaminated 
federal sites, these agreements must be honored.

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