[CPEO-MEF] Congressman Delahunt's bill to repeal anti-enviro rider

[mtptara@ime.net]

	NEWS FROM
	CONGRESSMAN BILL DELAHUNT


For Immediate Release:				                              	 Further 
Information:
November 15, 1999				           	   Steve Schwadron (202) 225-3111
	
DELAHUNT SPONSORS BILL TO REPEAL ANTI-ENVIRO RIDER
62 House Colleagues Endorse Repeal Effort
Also Launches On-Line Grassroots Campaign For Legislation

WASHINGTON, DC -- Congressman Bill Delahunt, joined by dozens of House 
colleagues, introduced legislation today to repeal an appropriations rider 
which undermines environmental enforcement at military Superfund sites.

Rep. Delahunt also launched a national, on-line campaign to repeal the 
provision, which could affect ongoing work at the Massachusetts Military 
Reservation, South Weymouth Naval Air Station and dozens of other Pentagon 
facilities across the country.  Delahunt said the endorsement of 62 
congressional cosponsors, from Florida to Oregon, is just a start.

"By shielding the Pentagon from enforcement, the rider created an 
indefensible -- and staggeringly regressive -- double standard for federal 
polluters," Delahunt said.  "While undermining both state and federal 
enforcement, it sends precisely the wrong message."

Since discovering the rider buried in a $268 million Pentagon funding bill 
two weeks ago, Delahunt has spearheaded efforts to blunt its potential 
impact on Superfund cleanups.  This work has spanned local, state and 
federal arenas, in both legislative and executive branches.
After alerting all affected at MMR and the Weymouth base to the new 
obstacles, Delahunt elevated the issue to garner a formal presidential 
directive to the Pentagon last week to mitigate implementation of the 
rider.

Recruited Key Republican Partner

At the same time, Rep. Delahunt recruited a key Republican Congressman, 
Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY). Working together, Delahunt and Boehlert 
ignited a coast-to-coast prairie fire among grassroots state officials 
whose work stands to suffer under this provision.

They enlisted the help of dozens of governors, attorneys general, state 
legislatures and state environmental officials who had been unaware of the 
threat -- and who are now alarmed enough to help bang on doors throughout 
Washington.

With congressional budget deliberations now in extra innings, this 
legislative drama is still playing out.  The White House policy statement 
helped accelerate state efforts on the provision, including Republican 
governors upset about interference from Washington in state

- more -
Delahunt/Rider Repeal
page 2

enforcement prosecutions.

Delahunt, a former prosecutor himself, said the response has been "swift 
and strong".   At least seven US Senators have expressed alarm.  Just this 
morning, a Los Angles Times editorial called the rider "both vindictive and 
widely harmful".

Still, the odds of prevailing are steep, given the political clout of the 
opposition and the imminence of congressional adjournment.  But, he said, 
the repeal bill is meant as a clear signal that "neither federal nor state 
enforcement can be held hostage to sneak-attacks in the dark corners of the 
Capitol".  The anti-environmental language was slipped in the bill without 
any review by either the House or Senate.

Delahunt vowed to sustain his repeal campaign, if necessary, into and 
throughout the second session of Congress, which begins in January. The 
immediate support of 62 colleagues lends that effort added momentum.

Let The Sun Shine In

In preparation for the long haul, Delahunt today also unveiled plans to use 
the Internet as an educational and strategic tool. Specifically, he invited 
anyone interested -- locally or nationally -- in details on this issue to 
visit his congressional website at www.house.gov/delahunt.

The Delahunt website outlines the recent history of the issue, including 
all relevant documents and correspondence. It is designed to help educate 
state officials, consumer and environmental groups, as well as individuals 
whose homes or businesses abut Superfund sites, about the hazards of 
disarming environmental law enforcement.

"The most effective antidote to midnight riders is to shine light on them," 
Delahunt said. "The Internet can help get the word out far and fast."

- 30 -

Note: the 62 original cosponsors of the repeal bill are: Abercrombie 
(D-HI), Allen (D-ME), Baldwin (D-WI), Barrett (D-WI), Becerra (D-CA), 
Berkley (D-NV), Berman (D-CA),  Blumenauer (D-OR), Boehlert (R-NY), Bonior 
(D-MI), Brown (D-OH), Capuano (D-MA), Conyers (D-MI), Crowley (D-NY), 
DeFazio (D-OR), DeGette (D-CO), DeLauro (D-CT),  Dingell (D-MI), Farr 
(D-CA), Forbes (D-NY), Frank (D-MA), Gilchrest (R-MD), Gutierrez (D-IL), 
Hinchey (D-NY), Holt (D-NJ), Hooley (D-OR), Johnson (R-CT), Kaptur (D-OH), 
 Kennedy (D-RI), Kucinich (D-OH), Lewis (D-GA), Lowey (D-NY),  Luther 
(D-MN), Maloney (D-CT), Markey (D-MA), McCarthy (D-NY), McCarthy (D-MO), 
McDermott (D-WA),  McGovern (D-MA), Meehan (D-MA), Miller (D-CA), Moakley 
(D-MA), Nadler (D-NY), Neal (D-MA), Pallone (D-NJ), Olver (D-MA), 
Romero-Barcelo (D-PR), Sanders (I-VT),  Schakowsky (D-IL), Slaughter 
(D-NY), Stark (D-CA), Tierney (D-MA), Udall (D-CO), Udall (D-NM), Vento 
(D-MN), Ford (D-TN), Waxman (D-CA), Weiner (D-NY), Weygand (D-RI), Wexler 
(D-FL), Woolsey (D-CA), Wu (D-OR).






You can find archived listserve messages on the CPEO website at http://www.cpeo.org/lists/index.html.

If this email has been forwarded to you and you'd like to subscribe, please send a message to cpeo-military-subscribe@igc.topica.com 

_____________________________________________________________
Receiving this post in your inbox? You can read it on the Web
at Topica.  Just register and go to "Your Lists" page.  
It's that easy.  http://www.topica.com/t/6