Fact sheet on funding cuts.

[gkripke@Essential.ORG]

Posting from Gawain Kripke <gkripke@Essential.ORG>

For your information, a fact sheet on funding cuts for DOD cleanup. 
Please feel free to repost, etc. 

 Military Cleanups: Losing the Funding War
 CONGRESS BEGINS ASSAULT: PROGRAM NOT WELL DEFENDED SITUATION

 Before leaving Washington for Easter recess, Congress slashed $300
million dollars out of the Department of Defense Environmental Restoration
Account (DERA) for Fiscal Year 1995. This cut is 15 percent of the
approved budget of $1.78 billion. However, since this cut comes about
halfway through the fiscal year, the impact will be significant. The cut
in the cleanup budget comes as part the fiscal year Defense Supplemental
Spending bill (H.R. 889), intended to increase funding for defense
training and "readiness" functions and to offset costs related to
peacekeeping operations.

 Combined with earlier cuts, Congress has slashed close to 25 percent
of the cleanup budget since last year (fiscal year 1994). By comparison,
the total Department of Defense budget declined about six percent. 
President Clinton has requested $1.622 billion for DERA for Fiscal Year
1996. Congress has not yet acted on this budget but key legislators have
hinted that deep cuts are possible. 

 FUNDING FOR DEFENSE ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION ACCOUNT
 (figures in billions of $) 

 FY94 FY95 FY95 FY95 FY96
 Approved Cut* Final Clinton Request
DERA 1.96 1.78 0.30 1.48 1.62 

* Recently approved by Congress. 

WHAT IS DERA? 
 The Department of Defense Environmental Restoration Account (DERA) is
the key budget account which funds assessment, planning, and cleanup of
toxic contamination at operating military facilities. Funding for most
closing military facilities comes from a separate funding account. The
most recent Defense Department information indicates that more than 10,000
potentially-contaminated sites await assessment and/or cleanup at more
than 776 operating military facilities. In addition, more than 2,800
sites at formerly-used military facilities require attention and work. 

 Environmental cleanup of closing military facilities is funded
through another budget account, the Base Realignment and Closure Account
(BRAC), because these cleanups are placed on a "fast-track" to speed
conversion and closure. Environmental cleanups at closing military bases
have not been seriously cut, however, Congress may consider changing the
rules for speeding up cleanups at these facilities. 

WHAT DO BUDGET CUTS MEAN? 
 Communities, activists, local officials, state regulators which have
been affected by military contamination are becoming deeply concerned
about the funding cuts for military cleanup. Large budget cuts will mean
that environmental cleanup my be delayed or scaled back. Lower-priority
cleanups or public safety activities may be cancelled. California
Governor Pete Wilson recently wrote to Defense Secretary William Perry: 
"The continued erosion of cleanup funding inevitably will threaten the
health of armed services personnel and civilians who work at military
bases where contamination is present. It will also exacerbate economic
suffering in communities that are struggling to redevelop closing bases." 
 (over...) 

THE CHALLENGE AHEAD
 Activity on the budget for Fiscal Year 1996 has just begun. Recent
budget cuts to the Fiscal Year 1995 budget indicate that Congress may seek
to slash DERA to provide more funding for other Defense Department
activities such as weapons procurement or training activities. The budget
and appropriations process in Congress lasts several months and includes
several key decision points. They include: 
 * Passage of the Budget Resolution. The House of Representatives 
and the Senate will enact budget resolutions which set spending and 
revenue targets for the Fiscal Year in very broad strokes. The Budget 
Resolution provides direction for Congress and is not signed by the 
President. Passage of the Budget Resolution is expected in
May and a final negotiated version will likely be adopted by both the 
House and Senate by the end of May. 
 * The Defense Bill. The House and Senate pass Defense
Authorization bills. The differences are negotiated and then passed by 
both bodies. The President must sign this final version to become law. 
This bill is largely developed by the House and Senate Armed Services 
Committees (the House has been renamed the Committee on National
Security). This bill will make policy changes and set authorized budget 
levels for Defense Department program and accounts. The House and Senate 
usually enact their versions of the Defense Bill in July. The negotiations on the legislation are is usually completed
before August. 
 * Appropriations. The House and Senate Appropriations Committees
are the key funding bodies in Congress. In a sense, the Appropriations
Committees actually write the check for federal spending. First the House
and later the Senate enact appropriations legislation to set the actual
(not authorized) funding levels for the Department of Defense and other
federal agencies. The legislation is largely developed by the
Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense (Subcommittee on National Security
in the House). These bills are usually enacted in June or July and the
final negotiated conference occurs in September. The President must sign
these this bill to become law. 

THE NEED FOR EDUCATION
 Although some Members of Congress have expressed concern about budget
cuts for military cleanups, there has been very little debate on the issue
in Congress. In part this may be due to the relative inexperience of many
Members of Congress. The elections of 1992 and 1994 each brought large
new freshman classes to Congress, legislators who were not around when the
cleanup program was started. Many Members of Congress, and their staff,
do not understand what the Defense cleanup program does and why it exists. 

 While few would argue that the Defense cleanup program could not be
improved, it is important that key decision-makers in Congress gain an
understanding of the value of cleanups to public health, to strong local
economies, and to community relations. 

ACTION NEEDED
 Please contact your Senators and Representatives and ask them to
oppose cuts in Defense environmental cleanup funding. Mention any
specific facilities you are concerned about and the need for progress on
cleaning them up. Advertise any progress made at your facility if you
participate in a restoration advisory board or other public participation
vehicle. Invite her/him to a local forum or community meeting on facility
cleanup. Remind them that closing military bases must be cleaned up
before they can be converted to help the local economy. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Gawain Kripke
 Friends of the Earth
 202/783-7400 ext. 212
 Internet: gkripke@essential.org