National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010

Floor Speech

NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010 -- (House of Representatives - June 25, 2009)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the Franks-Cantor-Sessions-Broun-Roskam Amendment and in support of the fundamental obligation this body has to fully fund our Nation's Environmental Management Program.

I support my colleagues' efforts to increase funding to the Missile Defense Agency. The decision to cut funding for this program is dangerous and short-sighted, especially at a time when countries like Iran and North Korea are seeking nuclear weapons programs that put our country and its citizens at risk. However, while I support the efforts to restore funding, I cannot support the offset and the repercussions that cutting funding for our Nation's Environmental Management Program would have.

There is nothing conservative about cuts that the Franks-Cantor Amendment would make or the impact they would have. These cuts ultimately will slow the pace of cleanup at our Nation's nuclear contaminated sites, thus costing taxpayers more money in the long-run.

In sites across the country, including in my home State of Idaho as well as in Washington State, South Carolina, Tennessee, and a number of other states, rest the nuclear remnants of the Cold War. These sites are contaminated with, and home to, some of the most dangerous materials in the world. The people who work at these sites, and the states that host them, have been through a great deal over the past fifty years to accommodate the defense of our Nation.

In return, they expect the Federal Government to make good on its promise, and legal obligation, to clean up these sites and protect the environment of future generations. Many of these states have legally-binding agreements with the Federal Government that dictate when and how these materials will be remediated and then disposed.

The Franks-Cantor Amendment will slow the pace of work at these sites and put the Federal Government at significant risk of missing legally-binding deadlines. Those missed deadlines mean penalties which will be paid for by the taxpayers. In addition, the cost of doing this work goes up substantially each year it is delayed, again putting taxpayers at risk.

I recognize the argument that the EM program was recently awarded a huge sum of money in the stimulus program and can easily withstand a $1.2 billion reduction this year. I don't agree with the argument, but I understand where my colleagues are coming from when they make it.

Mr. Chair, their argument is one that gives me great heartburn. When the Senate added $6 billion for the EM program to the stimulus bill, I knew I would hear this argument used time and again to undermine the base budget of the EM program that Members like Doc Hastings, Zach Wamp, Gresham Barrett, myself, and others have worked so hard to increase and stabilize over the past 10 years.

I was worried when we passed the stimulus bill that my colleagues would see the EM program as a slush fund, flush with stimulus cash, from which they could seek offsets for increases to priorities elsewhere. Sure enough, here we are, putting the base EM program at risk because of the desire to infuse the program with one-time money that may have short-term benefits, but will cause significant long-term damage down the road.

I have spent my career defending the EM program and seeking stable funding so that our Nation can make good on its promise to our States. I remain as committed as ever to protecting the base program and keeping cleanup of these sites on track.

Mr. Chair, as I said earlier, I strongly support my colleagues' efforts to restore funding for the Missile Defense Agency. However, I strongly oppose the funding reductions included in this amendment. In the strongest possible terms, I urge my colleagues to reject the Franks-Cantor amendment and keep the EM program on track in Idaho, Washington, South Carolina, Tennessee, New Mexico, Ohio and the other States in which its work is so crucial.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source