Statement of Senator Baucus
Senate Committee Environment and Public Works
Hearing on the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2003
July 9, 2002
2:30 pm
Mr.
Chairman, I applaud you for holding this hearing today on the Readiness and
Range Preservation Initiative provisions that have arisen in the context of the
National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2003. This is an important debate that raises
issues under the jurisdiction of this Committee and I am pleased, Mr. Chairman,
that we will have this hearing record to share with the conferees of the House
and Senate on the Defense Authorization bill.
Mr.
Chairman, I think we can all agree that it is imperative to maintain our
military’s superior readiness capabilities, particularly as we call upon our
armed forces to defend us in the war against terrorism. I believe we are united in our desire to
ensure that all of our troops have the training and experience they need to
enhance their effectiveness in combat and to minimize the likelihood of
casualties.
The
testimony of the Vice Chiefs of Staffs for our armed forces, and the Readiness
and Range Preservation Initiative that they advocate, raises the concern that
certain of our environmental laws may impede the military’s ability to maximize
the readiness of its troops for combat.
This is not a concern that we can take lightly, and we should consider
the matter seriously. I know that’s
precisely the reason you called this hearing today, Mr. Chairman.
That
said, we must also recognize that our bedrock environmental laws play a vital
role in protecting the health and well being of our citizens, and our precious
natural resources. I firmly believe
that we can have the greatest, most well prepared military in the world and
maintain our high environmental standards.
And, Mr. Chairman, I’m not sure that we need to make changes to current
law to achieve this balance.
From
what I have found in the testimony submitted to this Committee today, the
Department of Defense has developed a remarkable record of environmental
stewardship, coming to the table with other federal agencies to develop
innovative solutions to enhance military readiness while protecting the
environment and public health. It has
done this despite its previous legacy of large-scale environmental
contamination, much of which continues to haunt the Department today and cost
the taxpayers billions of dollars.
Part
of this newfound success is due to the environmental laws developed in this
country over several decades and the public’s emerging environmental
consciousness. Most of our
environmental laws provide some measure of flexibility to our armed forces to
respond to national security concerns on a case-by-case basis. Some of those flexibility mechanisms have
never been invoked by the Department.
So,
Mr. Chairman, I hope this hearing will help us better understand exactly what
the Department of Defense’s concerns really are, and whether the environmental
exemptions, or “clarifications,” requested by the Department actually address
those concerns.
Thank you again Mr. Chairman for holding this hearing today, and I look forward to hearing the testimony of the witnesses.