[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 85 (Thursday, May 22, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1023]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DOC HASTINGS

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 21, 2008

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Madam Speaker, I believe funding to clean 
up the Hanford site in Washington State, and the Department of Energy's 
other Environmental Management sites across the country, is a 
fundamental federal obligation, not an earmark as it is labeled in this 
bill. However, because it has been so labeled in the Committee report, 
I voluntarily submit to the House an explanation and justification of 
this funding in an effort to provide as much public disclosure as 
possible on congressionally directed funding and earmarks. The $10 
million programmatic increase provided for in the bill will be used for 
the Department of Energy's Environmental Management program at the 
Hanford Site in Fiscal Year 2009. The entity to receive the funding is 
the U.S. Department of Energy located at 1000 Independence Avenue, 
S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585. The Federal Government has a legal and 
moral obligation to clean up the massive wastes and contamination it 
created at Hanford during the Manhattan Project, World War II and the 
Cold War. Funding to clean up Hanford is not a luxury sought by myself 
or my constituents, it is an essential responsibility of the United 
States government. The over 500-square-mile Hanford site is the world's 
largest and most complex environmental cleanup project, and the Federal 
Government must keep its commitment to clean it up. No matching funds 
are required.




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