National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007

NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2007

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Chairman, thank you, and I appreciate your leadership and the cooperation of Ranking Member Ike Skelton for developing the Defense Authorization Act. I am grateful that both of you have had family members as service members overseas in the global war on terrorism.

My support of this bill is as a Member of Congress, very proud to represent Fort Jackson, the Marine Air Station at Beaufort, Parris Island, the Beaufort Naval Hospital.

Additionally, I am very grateful to have a background as a veteran of the National Guard for 30 years, but I am particularly proud, as the chairman has referenced, that in August my fourth son will be serving in the military of the United States. So our family is very, very proud of what the military means in protecting American families.

Mr. Speaker, in 2000, leaders from Russia and the United States announced a strategic agreement designed to dispose of tons of surplus weapons grade plutonium by turning it into mixed oxide, MOX, fuel for use in existing commercial nuclear reactors.

After this agreement was announced, the Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina, which is located in the district I represent and Representative Gresham Barrett, was chosen to fulfill the U.S. side of this important mission. Throughout the past 6 years, our country has demonstrated that we are ready to move forward with our part of the nonproliferation agreement.

Last week, my colleagues on the committee, with the leadership of Chairman Terry Everett, supported the amendment to delink the U.S. and Russia MOX programs to ensure that the pace of the Russia MOX program will not dictate the progress of the U.S. MOX program. Described by CQ Today as perhaps the most significant amendment adopted at Wednesday's markup, this provision enables SRS to immediately begin construction of a MOX facility. We remain confident that our progress will encourage Russia to proceed with the same momentum.

In addition to fulfilling our agreements to nuclear nonproliferation, this crucial piece of legislation will help create hundreds of jobs in South Carolina and Georgia. By passing the National Defense Authorization Act, Congress will continue to lead the effort to reduce our excess plutonium supply. I urge my colleagues to support passage.

In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget September 11.

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Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. I am very happy to join with my colleague from New Jersey, and I share the same surprise as he that the accepted means of disposal of military munitions was to dump them off the coast.

I appreciate your efforts. I appreciate the efforts of our colleague, Congressman Abercrombie of Hawaii, to raise this issue. I know personally that I had the privilege of growing up in Charleston, South Carolina, right on the coast. I now represent many beautiful and pristine communities along the south Atlantic coast.

These are areas crucial for homebuilding, which is the basis of our society. I want to do all I can to promote the homebuilding industry, the ability of people from New Jersey in particular to come down and visit some very beautiful resort areas of South Carolina.

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Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. We can share this together, because I have visited the shores of New Jersey and I invite you to visit the beaches of South Carolina. This is so important.

In addition, I would like to point out that what you are proposing indeed would provide valuable information concerning the situation of military munitions disposal. It is really reassuring to know now how we have modern disposal methods.

My oldest son served for a year in Iraq. He had been trained for munitions collection and ultimate destruction of munitions. It is done now, obviously, with the intent of protecting the environment of the country in which they are located and to protect our troops, protect American families.

Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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