Re: CONGRESSIONAL LETTER SUPPORTS DERA

[gkripke@Essential.ORG]

Posting from Gawain Kripke <gkripke@Essential.ORG>
Subject: Re: CONGRESSIONAL LETTER SUPPORTS DERA

Aimee,

This is a great letter -- just the kind of thing they need to see on 
Capitol Hill. I hope other RABs pick up on this and get going.

I did want to mention to you, however, that the Studds-Ehrlich letter will
likely be closed to future signers in the next day or two and sent to the
Appropriations Committee. For this reason, by the time members of
Congress get your RAB letter, it may be too late to sign the
Studds-Ehrlich letter. This is not critical - because even if they are
too late to sign Studds-Ehrlich, they can write their own. But you might
want to suggest that, rather than focusing on the Studds-Ehrlich letter. 
Something like, "Please contact National Security Appropriations 
Subcommittee Chairman C.W. Young and ask him to fully fund the Defense 
Environmental Restoration Account."

Also, just one word about timing. The National Security Subcommittee is 
scheduled to "mark up" its bill the last week of June. So letters should 
be sent soon.

Good work.

Gawain Kripke 
Friends of the Earth

On Tue, 13 Jun 1995, Aimee Houghton wrote:

> Date: Tue, 13 Jun 1995 12:17:01 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Aimee Houghton <aimeeh@igc.org>
> To: Recipients of conference <careerpro@igc.org>
> Subject: Re: CONGRESSIONAL LETTER SUPPORTS DERA
> 
> posted by Mather AFB RAB
> via Aimee Houghton <aimeeh@igc.org>
> ------------------------------------------
> 
> What follows is a letter that the Mather AFB RAB is 
> circulating throughout its community for signatures. It 
> will be sent to their legislators on Friday (6-14-95). It 
> serves as an example of what one community is doing in 
> response to the cuts in the DERA budget. Please feel free 
> to adapt it to your own needs. The Mather AFB RAB 
> encourages other RABs to collect community signatures in 
> support of full funding for environmental cleanup.
> 
> _______________________________________________________________ 
> 
> The signatures below represent citizens concerned about the 
> rescission of $300 million that was initially appropriated 
> through the Defense Environmental Restoration Act for 
> environmental cleanup. The Defense Supplemental 
> Appropriations Act has decreased the total amount left to 
> cleanup active and formerly active bases to $1.48 billion. 
> Presently the pentagon recognizes 1,722 contaminated 
> installations, 107 of which are contaminated enough to 
> warrant listing on the National Priority List. The $1.48 
> billion granted is $700 million less than requested by the 
> Department of Defense.
> 
> The House National Security Committee has recommended for 
> fiscal year 1996 $200 million in cuts to the Defense 
> Environmental Restoration Act which will bring the budgeted 
> amount to $1.42 billion. The number of bases requiring 
> cleanup has basically stayed the same.
> 
> We want to urge our legislators to sign the Studds-Ehrlich 
> letter so that we can work together in prioritizing sites 
> that pose the greatest risk to human health and the 
> environment. We also invite the co-signers to join in 
> calling for funding for military cleanup at the level 
> requested by the Clinton Administration.
> 
> We would at this time like to commend the cleanup efforts 
> that have been going on at Mather Air Force Base. Great 
> strides have been made in implementing reuse. We greatly 
> appreciate your support in this area and ask for continued 
> help. We would be greatly dismayed to see funding taken 
> away or decreased to the point that the contamination 
> spreads and our health affected. We have great faith in the 
> American System and know that our children will grow up in a 
> land that provides protection for them abroad and at home.
> 
> 
> NAME ADDRESS
>