Letter to Donald Winter, Secretary of the Navy

Letter

Eshoo and Fellow Members of Congress Urge Navy to Step Up and Restore Hangar One

Today, Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) with the overwhelming support of the Northern California Delegation sent the following letter to Secretary of the Navy, Donald Winter. The full text of the letter is below.

To see a PDF of the letter, click here .

To see a PDF of California delegation's 2006 letter to the Secretary of the Navy, click here .

To see Center Director Pete Worden's Palo Alto Daily News op-ed, click here .

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September 17, 2008

The Honorable Donald Winter
Secretary of the Navy
Department of Defense
1000 Navy Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20350

Dear Secretary Winter,

We write once again about the fate of historic Hangar One at former Moffett Field Naval Air Station (NAS) in California. Recall we contacted you in June 2006 with our deep concerns about the preservation of this treasured landmark (copy enclosed).

We applaud the Navy's decision not to demolish this national treasure. However, we agree with the Palo Alto Weekly Editorial: Navy's Half Step on Hangar One dated August 6, 2008, "...the idea of leaving a skeletal remain is both repulsive and non-responsive to the intent of laws and regulations covering base closures."

Our position on behalf of our mutual Bay Area constituents is as follows:

* The Navy is responsible for the remediation of environmental hazards. The health and well-being of our citizens must always be our priority.
* The Navy should cooperate with NASA to ensure that remediation and restoration are efficiently achieved. This includes providing a schedule for the Navy's work. Enclosed is a copy of Center Director Pete Worden's excellent column underscoring NASA's willingness to work with the Navy dated September 10, 2008 in the Palo Alto Daily News entitled, "NASA Aims to Restore Hangar One's Legacy."
* Our constituents have overwhelmingly supported a re-skinning of Hangar One during the public comment period, and it is critical that we do everything possible to see that Hangar One is restored so that it remains an icon in the Bay Area. Citizens and community leaders alike have come together to support a re-skinning and remediation process that allows for a new covering for Hangar One.

We thank you for your attention to this critical matter and we look forward to celebrating the rebirth of this one of a kind historic treasure.

Sincerely,

Anna G. Eshoo, Member of Congress
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House
Zoe Lofgren, Member of Congress
Mike Thompson, Member of Congress
Michael M. Honda, Member of Congress
Ellen O. Tauscher, Member of Congress
Barbara Lee, Member of Congress
Lynn Woolsey, Member of Congress
Fortney H. "Pete" Stark, Member of Congress
George Miller, Member of Congress
Jackie Speier, Member of Congress
Jerry McNerny, Member of Congress
Sam Farr, Member of Congress