Letter to DOD

[Aimee Houghton <aimeeh@igc.org>]

Posting from Aimee Houghton <aimeeh>

/* Written 8:56 PM Dec 22, 1994 by fbp in igc:haz.military */
/* ---------- "Letter to DOD" ---------- */
From: Foreign Bases Project <fbp>

>From gkripke@Essential.ORG Thu Dec 22 07:41:09 1994

Date: December 21, 1994 
To: Deutch letter-signers and other interested persons 
From: Gawain Kripke, Friends of the Earth, 202/783-7400 ext. 212 
RE: Letter delivered, let's get some press coverage. 

First, thanks for signing the letter. I think it may make a difference. 
The attached letter was faxed to Deputy Secretary Deutch's office December
19 with a hard copy in the mail. The letter will also be hand-delivered
to Vice-President Gore tomorrow when Brent Blackwelder, President of
Friends of the Earth meets with him. As of now, I believe no decision has
been made regarding the environmental spending budget at DOD. I will let
you know if I hear anything. 

I am also enclosing a mock up of a press release. Please consider doing a
press release and sending out the letter to local press (radio, newspaper,
tv). Getting press on this issue is very important to push the Defense
Department to do the right thing and to educate the public about the
importance of cleanup (and funding for it). The more press and public
discussion of this issue, the less likely it is that Congress will cut it. 
Congressional cuts are a very, very real risk right now. Already, senior
Senate Armed Service Committee members have put environmental spending on
the chopping block. 

Feel free to change anything in the press release or think up local
angles, etc. If you are talking to the media about this issue, here are
some key points: 

* The DOD is considering cutting more than $500 million from defense
environmental spending over the next two years. Proposed cut is from DOD
Comptroller's office. * The bulk of these cuts (more than $400 million)
would come from cleanup programs. Total cleanup spending is about $1.8
billion for FY95. Smaller cuts would come from compliance and research
accounts. * DOD Environmental Security Office and Under Secretary for
Acquisition and Technology oppose the cut. * Overall cleanup spending is
less than one percent of Total Defense Budget at approx. $260 billion. *
Cuts would mean DOD could not keep commitments and agreements with states. 
This could mean costly litigation and regulatory action and loss of
goodwill between state regulators, communities, etc. 

 If you get any media coverage of this issue, please share it with me and
let me know what angles worked. It's important that people here in
Washington hear how people feel outside. Thanks for your good work. 

(p.s. I didn't clean up the signatures on the letter for this email. If 
you want me to fax or send you a copy, give me a call or email me.)

PRESS RELEASE TEMPLATE BEGINS HERE:

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

 CONTACT: 

 DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONSIDERS ABANDONING
 ITS TOXIC CLEANUP COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITIES
 Letter Asks Defense Department Not
 to Cut Environmental Spending 
WASHINGTON, D.C. --
Today, More than 50 grassroots organizations and citizens called on Deputy
Secretary John M. Deutch to maintain funding for cleaning up contamination
and operations at military facilities (see attached letter). The U.S. 
Defense Department will risk the long-term public health and environmental
quality of thousands of communities around the country if
internally-proposed budget cuts are approved for fiscal years 1996 and
1997. 
 "Years of work and pressure have gradually brought the Defense
Department into partnership with communities and environmentalists to
clean up contamination at thousands of sites around the country. But cuts
such as those being considered would set back progress and risk long-term
human health and the environment," said .... 
 Deputy Secretary John Deutch is considering making cuts of more than
$500 million over the next two years from the environmental accounts that
include toxic cleanup and compliance with Clean Water requirements. 
Cutting funding may mean that the Defense Department could not honor
commitments and legal requirements to improve its environmental
performance. 
 "All in all, environmental cleanup spending is less than one percent
of the defense budget," Kripke continued. "These are real communities
facing real health risks right now. Shouldn't that be a higher priority
than building new weapons programs to address theoretical security risks?"
 [other important themes could include what the local contamination
is, health effects, timelines for cleanup, promises made by base
commanders, etc. Could tie in to Christmas theme like, "Like Dr. Seuss's
Grinch, the Department of Defense may steal Christmas from
our community with major cuts in funding for cleaning up the neighboring 
military facility..."]

END PRESS RELEASE TEMPLATE

BEGIN TEXT OF LETTER TO DEUTCH WITH SIGNERS

 PLEASE SUPPORT ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP
 AND COMPLIANCE FUNDING
 December 20, 1994 
The Honorable John M. Deutch 
Deputy Secretary of Defense 
The Pentagon 
Room 3E944 
Washington, DC 20301 

Dear Sir: 
 The undersigned individuals and organizations urge you to support
funding for Department of Defense environmental funding at levels
necessary to fulfill the Department's commitments to communities and its
legal obligations. Recent news reports suggest that the Department of
Defense may cut its funding request for fiscal year 1996 and the 1997
planning figure substantially below levels suggested by the Environmental
Security office. 
 Many of us represent communities that are bearing the brunt of
hazardous waste contamination and other pollution from domestic Defense
Department facilities. Over a period of decades, Defense environmental
practices have undermined our health, environment, and economic prospects. 
That is, we have been "dumped upon" by the very forces that are supposed
to protect us. 
 Over the last few years, however, the Defense Department
Environmental Security office and the armed services have increased
cleanup, compliance, and other environmental programs. Gradually, they
are making progress toward winning the respect and support of base
neighbors and employees. Increasingly, Defense communities are being
treated as partners, not adversaries. Stakeholder participation and
streamlined oversight are outstanding examples of that new partnership. 
 We are deeply concerned, however, that drastic cuts in Defense
environmental programs will undermine that spirit of partnership. 
Cleaning up and reducing pollution will become more contentious, less
effective, and much more costly. 
 Maintaining adequate funding will, on the other hand, enable all
parties to continue their joint efforts to make cleanup cheaper, faster,
safer, and better. 
 Sincerely, 

Dennis Argent, President 
James Burns, Vice-President 
William Skubi, Secretary 
Steve Johnson, Associate Director
Whidbey Islanders for a Sound Environment 

Domenick Bertelli 
Workplace Economic Conversion Action
 Network 

Gregory A. Bischak, PhD National Commission for Economic
 Conversion and Disarmament 

Brainard Bivens Arkansas Common Ground,
living near or
 affected by Pine Bluff Arsenal Saul Bloom Arms Control Research
Center 

Doug Bogen Clean Water Action, living near or affected
 by Pease Air Force Base and
 Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

 Dorothy Brooks-Ange Military Families
Support Network, Inc.,
 living near or affected by Fort Bragg 

Grace Bukowski Rural Alliance
for Military Accountability 

Leslie Byster Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition,
living near
 or affected by Moffett Field 

Robin Caiola, co-director 20/20 Vision
National Project 

Robert L. Campbell, Executive Director Trinity Post 7-45
(Atomic Veterans) 

Roger Cole Seacoast Anti-Pollution League, living near
 or affected by Portsmouth Naval
 Shipyard 

Rene Cook living near or affected by Crab Orchard
 Wildlife Refuge Sharon Cooper Western Oklahoma Environmental Services
 (WOES) 

Tina Daly living near or affected by Valley Forge

 Jefferson H.
Dickey, MD Human Health and the Environment Project,
 New England Physicians for Social
 Responsibility 

Jorge Emmanuel, PhD Asian Pacific Environmental
Network,
 Oakland, CA* ARC-Ecology, San Francisco, CA* US Working Group for
Philippine Bases
 Cleanup* 

Susan Falkoff Watertown Citizens for Environmental
 Safety, living near or affected by
 Watertown Arsenal Curt Gandy Fort Ord Toxics Project, living near or
 affected by Fort Ord, Naval Post-
 Graduate School (Monterey, CA),
 Defense Language Institute, Foreign
 Language Center of Presidio
 Monterey 

Kathy Grandfield Missouri Toxics Activists Network, living
 near or affected by Whiteman
 Airforce Base 

Dr. Howard Gunn East Mississippi Multi-County Safe
 Environment Association, living near
 or affected by Columbus Air Force
 Base 

Myrna Hayes, Chair Save San Pablo Baylands* Mare Island
Restoration Advisory Board
 (community co-chair)*, living near or
 affected by Mare Island Naval
 Shipyard, Skaggs Island Naval
 Communications Security Activity 

Sue Hestor Citizens for
Representative Government,
 living near or affected by the
 Presidio of San Francisco and
 Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Peter Hille Kentucky Environmental
Foundation, living
 near or affected by Lexington Blue
 Grass Army Depot Cathy Hinds Military Toxics Project Dr. John S.
Holmes Central Valley Safe Environment Network,
 living near or affected by Castle Air
 Force Base Karyn Jones Citizens for Environmental Quality, living
 near or affected by Umatilla Depot Gawain Kripke Friends of the Earth
John Lindsay-Poland Fellowship of Reconciliation, Task Force on
 Latin America and the Caribbean Damacio Lopez Progressive Alliance
for Community
 Empowerment, living near or
 affected by Los Alamos Sandra Lunceford living near or affected by
Mather Air Force
 Base John M. Miller International Clearinghouse on the Military
 & the Environment Laura Olah Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger,
 living near or affected by Badger
 Army Ammunition Plant Polly Parks Board of Advisors of Grassroots
 International, living near or affected
 by Otis Air Force Base; Watertown
 Arsenal Mall Tom Rauch American Friends Service Committee Irene
Reyna, Petra Mata, Viola Conner Fuerza Unida* Helen Richick Aberdeen
Proving Ground Superfund
 Citizens Coalition, living near or
 affected by Aberdeen Proving
 Ground Murray Rosenbluth Oxnard Plain Restoration Advisory Board,
 living within a quarter mile of the
 Navy Construction Battalion Center,
 Port Hueneme and affected by the
 Naval Air Weapons Center at Point
 Mugu. David Rush, M.D., co-chair Greater Boston Physicians for
Social
 Responsibility Linda Schimmelfenwig living near or affected by
Miramar Air
 Force Base, Naval Training Center,
 Pendleton Judy Scotnicki living near or affected by Nuclear Metals,
 Inc. (Concord, MA) Susan Shaer Women's Action for New Directions Seth
Shulman, author The Threat at Home: Confronting the Toxic
 Legacy of the U.S. Military Lenny Siegel Pacific Study Center Wilbur
Slockish Columbia River Education & Economic
 Development, living near or affected
 by Yakima Firing Range & Umatilla
 Depot Dick Smith Citizens for Responsible Ft. McCoy Growth,
 living near or affected by Fort
 McCoy Sandra Steele living near or affected by March Air Force
 Base John R. Stone Michelle Sybert Citizens for a Better Environment
Diane Takvorian Environmental Health Coalition Alice Tepper-Marlin Council
on Economic Priorities* Maria Valenti, Executive Director New England
Physicians for Social
 Responsibility Ross Vincent, Chair Sierra Club Hazardous Materials
Committee David Walls Sonoma State University, Mare Island
 Educational Consortium* Jennifer Weeks Union of Concerned Scientists
Craig Williams Chemical Weapons Working Group Donna Wong Hawaii's Thousand
Friends*
* Organization listed for indentification purposes only.

Gawain Kripke Internet: gkripke@essential.org