Well, since this bill passed, I guess I'm bashing everyone who voted for it in Congress. My particular objections are below - and they have nothing to do with better pay for our troops, or being able to fight terrorists. >:P
Short list: nukes, marine mammals, environmental exemptions, missile defense. [aside: John Kerry and John Edwards did not vote:] http://congress.nw.dc.us/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=447&chamber=S&congress=1081&tally=1 Elaboration: They've repealed the prohibitions on low-yield nuclear arms testing and underground testing...you can't fight terrorists with nukes, unless you want to take out a bunch of civilians in the process. Of course, there's also money budgeted to stop _others_ from becoming nuclear powers (which I of course approve) - http://www.nuclearweaponslaw.org/new_small_nukes_govt.html "SEC. 3131. REPEAL OF PROHIBITION ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF LOW-YIELD NUCLEAR WEAPONS. "(a) REPEAL- Section 3136 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (Public Law 103-160; 107 Stat. 1946; 42 U.S.C. 2121 note) is repealed. "(b) CONSTRUCTION- Nothing in the repeal made by subsection (a) shall be construed as authorizing the testing, acquisition, or deployment of a low-yield nuclear weapon. "(c) LIMITATION- The Secretary of Energy may not commence the engineering development phase, or any subsequent phase, of a low-yield nuclear weapon unless specifically authorized by Congress... "...SEC. 3132. READINESS POSTURE FOR RESUMPTION BY THE UNITED STATES OF UNDERGROUND NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTS. "(a) 18-MONTH READINESS POSTURE REQUIRED- Commencing not later than October 1, 2006, the Secretary of Energy shall achieve, and thereafter maintain, a readiness posture of 18 months for resumption by the United States of underground nuclear tests, subject to subsection (b)... "...SEC. 3135. REQUIREMENT FOR SPECIFIC AUTHORIZATION OF CONGRESS FOR COMMENCEMENT OF ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT PHASE OR SUBSEQUENT PHASE OF ROBUST NUCLEAR EARTH PENETRATOR. "The Secretary of Energy may not commence the engineering development phase (phase 6.3) of the nuclear weapons development process, or any subsequent phase, of a Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator weapon unless specifically authorized by Congress..." [So at least there's still theoretically some control over this measure, which seems to me to be a very bad step -- although it is possible that this is a 'strategic stick' WRT North Korea et. al...?] Missile defense gets 9.1 billion - do I recall correctly that such proposed systems and the tests thus far have been critiqued on-list, with corroborating evidence/links? [This is roughly 1/5 of the way down-page -- and I had *fits* trying to find this information! :P ] http://armedservices.house.gov/pressreleases/2003/03-11-07conferencesummary.htm "H.R. 1588 supports the Administration's budget request for ballistic missile defense programs. However, in recognition of more immediate concerns, the legislation shifts funding from activities with longer term pay-off to near-term requirements, and adds additional funds for theater missile defense. "The conferees commend the President�s commitment to missile defense, and recommend $9.1 billion for the continued development of ballistic missile defense (BMD)..." [lists provisions individually on-site] Then there's the exemption from provisions of the Endangered Species and Marine Mammal Protection Acts, in the name of military readiness: http://www.worldwildlife.org/news/headline.cfm?newsid=582 [This gives a selected and very tiny summary of the bill.] http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/rollcall2003/111603%5Frollcall%5F2003.shtml "2004 defense budget: Senators on Wednesday approved, 95 for and three against, the conference report on a $400.5 billion defense authorization bill (HR 1588) for fiscal 2004, a 4.5 percent increase over the comparable 2003 bill. The figure is in addition to $65 billion in new emergency spending for military actions, mainly in Iraq. The bill funds pay hikes averaging 4.1 percent, ends a ban on the underground testing of nuclear weapons under five kilotons, increases combat pay and family separation allowances, extends a ban on privately financed abortions at U.S. military hospitals abroad and advances a new round of base closings in 2005. "It partially repeals a requirement that disabled veterans deduct disability benefits from their military pensions and allows the Air Force to proceed with a disputed plan to lease Boeing aircraft for mid-air refueling. "The bill reduces civil service protections for some civilian Pentagon employees, exempts bases from environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act and allows the Navy to conduct deepwater operations harmful to marine mammals..." Additional hits on our environment (not just in the military budget bill): http://www.motherjones.com/news/dailymojo/2003/11/we_603_05c.html "1) Congress just approved an amendment to the defense authorization bill that effectively means the Navy can ignore federal protection for whales, dolphins, and other ocean mammals that get in the way of military operations and maneuvers. The 2004 Interior Department spending bill, which was enacted last week, does away with a 14-year moratorium on oil exploration in Alaska's Bristol Bay. The bill also contains provisions that make it easier for commercial loggers to chop down trees in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. "2) A series of amendments proposed by Ted Stevens of Alaska would undercut the efforts of Alaska's regional fishing managers to preserve fish habitats and species by giving control of the market to processors, not fishermen. "3) An amendment written by Missouri Senator Christopher Bond aims to strip California of its authority to set its own air quality standards. California recently adopted a new set of standards for lawn and garden equipment that would require Briggs & Stratton (an engine maker in, guess where? Missouri) to make cleaner engines. The amendment would not only roll back the California rule but also pre-empt the right of other states to adopt California's standards, a basic right under the Clean Air Act..." Re: that last, now there are states suing the EPA! [This is the entire article.] http://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/11170000aaa0158a.upi&Sys=cmikelis&Fid=NATIONAL&Type=News&Filter=National%20News "WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- A coalition of 14 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit Monday to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from introducing new rules. "The legal action, filed in the District of Columbia, claims the regulations would seriously weaken the Clean Air Act, send more pollutants into the atmosphere and damage public health. "The New York Times reported 12 states sued the EPA Oct. 27. Those states were joined Monday by California and Illinois in seeking an order blocking the new regulations from becoming effective Dec. 26 in 12 states that do not administer such rules themselves. The 38 other states are being given three years to decide whether to adopt the new rules. "New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said: "It is a sad day in America when a coalition of states must go to federal court to defend the Clean Air Act against the misguided actions of the federal agency created to protect the environment. "But in this matter, the EPA is standing with polluters instead of with the people it is supposed to protect, and the states have no choice but to take this action." For those who want a quick scan of pending and past legislation, this site is somewhat helpful, although I had to hunt much longer to get better delineation of the military budget bill (maybe that's just my inexperience in navigating - I can pull up relevent medical sites in short order, but I hunted for nearly an hour to get the sites in this post!): http://congress.org/congressorg/home/ If someone knows a better shortcut, I'd appreciate the link (s). Debbi __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
