[CPEO-MEF] NY Times Letter to the Editor: Military Readiness

[kdoyle@psenterprises.com]

New York Times
Letters to the Editor
April 5, 2003

Military Readiness

To the Editor: 

I take great issue with "Invoking War to Ease Rules"
(editorial, March 22). 

You say that "a General Accounting Office report last year
found that environmental regulations had not damaged
military readiness." But the G.A.O. report stated: "Over
time, the impact of encroachment on training ranges has
gradually increased. While the effect varies by service and
individual installation, in general encroachment has
limited the extent to which training ranges are available
or the types of training that can be conducted. This limits
units' ability to train as they would expect to fight
and/or requires units to work around the problem." 

The Defense Department is seeking clarifications, not
exemptions, to existing law. Its proposal would codify
several policies put into effect by the Fish and Wildlife
Service and the Environmental Protection Agency during the
Clinton administration. 

You called the Defense Department proposal "despicable,"
but in truth the proposal balances training and
environmental protection. It is necessary to save the lives
of soldiers. Unless Congress acts, numerous environmental
lawsuits could shut down training ranges nationwide.   

JAMES M. INHOFE 
Washington, March 27, 2003 
The writer is chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works
Committee. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/05/opinion/L05INHO.html?ex=1050654437&ei=1&en
=77954071f8993b2e

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