[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 157 (Monday, September 29, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

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                           HON. DOC HASTINGS

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 29, 2008

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Madam Speaker, to provide open 
disclosure, I am submitting the following information for publication 
in the Congressional Record regarding a project that I support for 
inclusion in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2009.
  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, DC 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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