[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 11, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1200]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1200]]
       FY04 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL (H.R. 1588)

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 10, 2003

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 1588, 
the fiscal year 2004 Defense Authorization bill. While I strongly 
believe we must support our armed servicemen and women around the 
world, this bill contains several unnecessary provisions intended to 
weaken employee protections and the environment while authorizing 
billions of dollars on a national missile defense policy that is 
unproven and untested. It is unfortunate that these controversial 
measures were included in such an important piece of legislation.
  I agree that the Department of Defense (DOD) should have the 
flexibility to manage itself in an efficient manner and provide the 
strongest national defense. This flexibility, however, should not come 
at the expense of worker's protections. H.R. 1588 gives the DoD broad 
authority to strip almost 700,000 civilian employees of fundamental 
rights relating to due process, appeal and collective bargaining 
rights. This means the DoD will be able to fire employees with no 
notice and no opportunity to respond, prevent discrimination actions 
from being heard by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, strip 
employees of their right to join a union and repeal the laws preventing 
nepotism. Civil service employees at DoD have defended our Nation 
bravely and made enormous sacrifices to support the military effort in 
Iraq. DOD should not be given unlimited authority to trample on their 
basic rights.
  H.R. 1588 also unnecessarily weakens long-standing environmental 
protections at our military facilities by lowering the accountability 
standard DoD must follow when recovering imperiled species under the 
Endangered Species Act. The new standard fails to ensure the DOD's 
conservation plans are actually effective in assisting the recovery of 
imperiled species. H.R. 1588 also creates a far less protective 
definition of `harassment' of marine life by military activities under 
the Marine Mammal Protection Act. This new definition allows DoD to 
avoid ensuring its activities are conducted in a manner to minimize 
harm to marine life such as whales, dolphins and sea lions.
  Although I fully appreciate the importance of military training and 
readiness, the DOD has not made the case that exemptions to important 
and long-standing environmental laws are necessary or that training is 
greatly impaired because of those laws. Furthermore, the President 
already has the authority to waive environmental laws if he deems it a 
matter of national security, and not once has a waiver requested by the 
President been turned down. Until our national security is at stake, no 
government agency--including the DOD--should be above laws that 
preserve our air and water and sustain America's wildlife.
  This measure also authorizes $9.1 billion for the unproven and 
untested National Missile Defense system. This costly program fails to 
address the rising threat of a chemical or biological weapons attack by 
terrorists and will divert precious resources away from the very real 
human investments needed to keep our military, intelligence agencies 
and domestic security agencies strong. At a time when the Federal 
Government shortchanges our local communities and neighborhoods in 
their hometown security efforts, it is irresponsible to be adding 
billions of dollars to a risky National Missile Defense program. We 
must strengthen our home security and provide our citizens with the 
appropriate resources necessary to ensure a terrorist attack never 
happens again on American soil.

  Although I oppose H.R. 1588, I am encouraged that the bill provides a 
significant boost for military salaries, health care, housing 
allowances and housing construction opportunities. We need to assure 
our military that as we continue to support their readiness 
capabilities, we remember the personal well being of the men and women 
in uniform as well as their families.
  When the Conference Report on this bill between the House and Senate 
is addressed in the House, we will have another opportunity to pass a 
measure that reflects the critical needs of our military while 
protecting the civil service protections of our employees and our 
environment. I look forward to working with my colleagues on these 
efforts.

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