[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10773]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION AMENDMENTS TO STRENGTHEN CLEANUP OF BRAC SITES

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, one reason there is so much opposition 
to the BRAC base closing process is that people do not know what they 
are going to get stuck with when their base closes. Seventeen bases 
from the 1988 round are still contaminated and have not been 
transferred back to the benefit of local communities. Over 140,000 
acres on closed or realigned bases have not been cleaned up.
  I am offering an amendment to the defense authorization legislation 
tomorrow that would delay the implementation of the 2005 Base 
Realignment and Closure round until the Secretary of Defense submits a 
strategy including an estimate of the amount of funds necessary to 
complete unexploded ordinance clean up and environmental remediation of 
the bases closed during the 1988 round. Not trying to stop the BRAC, 
just getting plans in place that are 17 years overdue.
  At a time when we are asking communities to bear the trauma of the 
BRAC process, it is unacceptable that we have not finished cleaning up 
the first round.

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