[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 7576-7577]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   A RUSH TO EXEMPT DEFENSE DEPARTMENT FROM MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, in the wake of our march to war with 
Iraq, too little attention has been placed on the rush to exempt the 
Department of Defense from most of America's major environmental laws.

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  This is more than just another misguided assault on the environment 
by the Bush administration. It is a significant missed opportunity for 
the military.
  Our defense-related activities are the source of the Nation's largest 
pollution and Superfund sites. From the radioactive legacy at Hanford, 
Washington, to the toxic residue of our chemical testing and 
manufacturing around American University here in Washington, D.C., 
every State, district and territory struggles with this problem.
  More exemptions are not going to help. A lack of controls created 
this toxic legacy across America in the first place. These exemptions 
will actually cost us money. Much of the tens of billions of dollars 
that will be necessary to clean up after our military activity is a 
result of delay and lack of commitment. States will be forced to step 
in where the Federal Government has walked away.
  Failure to invest in technologies of cleanup will put lives at risk. 
Land mines, unexploded ordnance kill people at home and abroad.
  Even the sprawl that vexes communities around the country hits at the 
military. Isolated areas that were once perfect for testing weapons and 
training soldiers are now victims of our headlong rush for urban 
development. Sprawl is one of the greatest challenges to military 
readiness as civilian uses encroach upon and around military bases and 
ranges.
  For too long, Congress has been missing in action in this critical 
area. It should not just reject the Bush administration's ill-conceived 
but cleverly-timed effort. Now is the time for Congress to help the 
military fulfill its environmental obligations.
  As the finest fighting force in the world, our military achieves 
astounding results. All they need are direct orders and adequate 
resources. Why not put them to work to enhance and protect the 
environment, rather than create more environmental threats in the 
future while we ignore the challenges of today?
  Since I came to Congress I have been working on this problem, 
fighting to at least inventory the areas that are blighted by 
unexploded ordnance, to put somebody in charge and incrementally 
increase funding for cleanup and research.
  As a gusher of money flows to defense, just half the budget for the 
ill-conceived national missile defense program could revolutionize 
military cleanup. Instead of a rate of spending that will now take 
centuries, maybe millennia, we could finish the job in a few decades.
  In the long term, investing in cleanup can actually save substantial 
sums of money. As technologies are developed and economies of scale are 
achieved in environmental cleanup, there will be a wide range of 
civilian contractors willing, able and eager to expand their business.
  Additional money for research will do far more than merely hasten 
cleanup and lower costs. It will have a profound implication not just 
for soldiers but for children and farmers who are killed and maimed 
every day as a result of unexploded ordnance and land mines. And this 
just does not happen overseas. They have been able to document over 60 
American victims, including children, who have been victims here in 
this country.
  At a time when we are deeply concerned about our economy, these 
investments will provide tens of thousands of family-wage jobs. 
Accelerated cleanup will speed the return of some of America's most 
interesting, scenic and valuable properties to productive uses and, in 
some cases, to the tax rolls.
  It is not just a fear of job loss that keeps between a quarter and a 
third of domestic bases that are surplus to our needs in operation. 
Many communities feel that they will lose not just the economic 
security and the jobs but they will be left with a white elephant that 
is polluted, surrounded by barbed wire and a cyclone fence.
  The Fort Ord base in California is an example. It contains some of 
the world's most spectacular landscape, but after 13 years since 
closure and over $500 million, the land still has not been fully 
restored to productive use.
  Twenty years ago, a bipartisan coalition of ``cheap hawks'' made some 
significant reforms in military weapons procurement. Today, the 
``hawks'' who care about the environment, the budget and military 
readiness should embrace bold, environmental military action.
  Congress should firmly reject the anti-environmental, unnecessary 
initiatives of the administration and, instead, give the money and 
instructions to the Department of Defense so they can clean up after 
themselves. It will boost the economy, save taxpayer money and enhance 
the environment. It will improve military readiness at home while it 
enhances the safety of soldiers and civilians around the world.

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