[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 21]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 29283]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 1588, NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR 
                            FISCAL YEAR 2004

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. ELLEN O. TAUSCHER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, November 7, 2003

  Mrs. TAUSCHER. Mr. Speaker, I have mixed emotions as I consider the 
fiscal year 2004 defense authorization conference report.
  I would like to thank my chairman, Mr. Hunter, and Ranking Member 
Skelton for working with me on several items that will benefit the 
people in my district, Travis Air Force Base, and our military airlift 
capabilities overall.
  Indeed, the language in the bill expediting the transfer of land from 
the Navy to the Housing Authority of the City of Dixon will improve the 
living and work conditions of migrant workers who contribute to the 
local economy.
  The language preventing the Secretary of the Air Force from retiring 
C-5A aircraft until one has been modernized and tested is a crucial 
measure that not only sustains a critical investment in upgrading one 
of the United States' most reliable transport planes, but it also 
ensures that Travis Air Force Base will continue to be an important 
provider of strategic lift in the near future.
  The bill also contains a number of important provisions for our men 
and women in uniform such as an increase in base pay; a reduction in 
housing expenses; an increase in family separation allowance; and an 
increase in the rate of special pay for our brave troops who serve in 
hostile situations and imminent danger.
  Despite these important positive elements, the bill contains several 
reckless provisions that undermine the security of the United States 
and needlessly jeopardize civilian employees and the environment.
  This bill puts the United States back in the business of making 
nuclear weapons, adds unnecessary regulations that hamstring the DOD's 
nonproliferation programs, takes away the protections of civilian 
personnel, and gratuitously endangers the environment.
  By lifting the ban on research and development of low yield nuclear 
weapons, Congress is abetting the administration's efforts to build a 
new generation of nuclear weapons; is inviting an arms race with rogue 
states, terrorists and allies; and is making a nuclear conflict more 
likely in the long run by undoing decades of American leadership in 
controlling the spread of the most deadly weapons known to man.
  The Defense Bill, rather than increasing the budget for the DOD's 
valuable cooperative threat reduction programs that dismantle and 
destroy weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union, adds 
unnecessary funding restrictions that in the end will only hurt the 
security of the American people.
  The broad environmental exemptions provided for in the bill will 
undermine efforts to protect our environment by, among other things, 
making it harder to wall-off parts of military facilities as protected 
areas for wildlife.
  Proponents use spin to claim this is necessary for military 
readiness, but it's hard to see how a blanket environmental exemption 
for everything on military installations from golf courses to swimming 
pools are pressing matters of national defense.
  Moreover, the Pentagon can already get waivers from the Endangered 
Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act when national security 
is at stake. But in the three decades since these laws have been in 
effect, not a single waiver has been sought.
  The bill also abolishes DOD's long-standing labor relations system 
and replaces it with one in which civilian employees have only minimal 
consultation with unions and Congress.
  The bill allows DOD to remove basic due process rights that employees 
currently enjoy by waiving their right to a written response, their 
right to be represented by an attorney, and their right to a written 
decision explaining the action.
  I am deeply disturbed that the Republican Party has hijacked an 
important bill for our troops and attached to it a radical slash-and-
burn ideology that is sure to undermine civilian morale at the 
Pentagon, needlessly endanger the environment and most alarmingly, 
endanger the American people with an irresponsible nuclear agenda.
  I am voting for this bill because I do not believe, especially in a 
time of war, we should punish our active troops by withholding funds 
and measures that would benefit them because of some of the 
administration's imprudent and over-reaching provisions in the bill.

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