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Maria's Monday Memo |
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By Art Shotwell (Editor)
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June 23, 2008 |
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 Senator Maria Cantwell’s Weekly Update
GAO's Decision Was a Scathing Indictment of the Air Force's Decision-Making Process
Boeing and the American people are the big winners in the decision the GAO made last week.
The GAO criticisms were a scathing indictment of the Air Force’s process, and they will have no choice but to re-bid this project. For months, I have asserted that the tanker contract process was fatally flawed and resulted in a fatally flawed decision for the American warfighter and the American taxpayer. Last week, the GAO agreed. Congress needs to investigate the way in which our federal agencies award contracts and ensure taxpayer costs and national security issues are paramount in all procurement decisions. I will always fight for answers to questions about costs and national security in the months ahead and Congress must also play a strong oversight role. Over the weekend, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and I joined union leaders, machinist representatives and Boeing workers to thank them for fighting for the tanker contract. The Pacific Northwest has a long, proud tradition of equipping our nation's military. We need to make sure the Department of Defense counts our experienced, highly skilled work force and strong industrial base among our country’s most important military assets.
Funding for Coastal Radar System Passed by Appropriations Committee
Last Thursday, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee included $2 million in funding I requested for a coastal radar weather system along Washington state’s coastline in the Senate Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2009. This funding is critical in bringing us one step closer to acquiring a Doppler radar and other equipment needed to track weather patterns along Washington state’s coastline, which is essential for predicting severe storms and protecting communities from severe weather. Despite having the worst non-tropical storms in the nation, Washington state has the worst weather radar coverage of any U.S. coastline. Our nation’s weather radar system has a gaping blind spot right over the outer coast of our state, placing our communities at risk and hindering the everyday lives of our citizens. Just last fall, Washington state experienced storms with hurricane force winds and torrential rains that hit right in the heart of this blind spot. The funding passed last week by the Senate Appropriations Committee is a major step toward solving this gap and better protecting Washington neighborhoods, businesses, and communities. For months, I have been pushing for a new weather monitoring system for Washington state. In March, I hosted a roundtable discussion in Grays Harbor with local law enforcement officials, elected officials, representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The meeting highlighted Washington’s unique situation and how current radar systems are wholly inadequate to deal with severe winds, rain, and other weather conditions.
Pacific Salmon Restoration Funding Passes in the Senate Spending Bill
Also last Thursday, funding I requested for the restoration of endangered salmon and expansion of salmon restoration projects throughout the Pacific Northwest was included in the Senate Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2009. I worked with my colleagues in the Senate to request that $90 million in funding be included to support the conservation and recovery of Pacific salmon across the Pacific Northwest’s rivers, watersheds, and coastal areas. Protecting and preserving endangered salmon stocks is critical to the health of Washington state’s economy. This funding is critical to support projects for salmon recovery through local, state, federal, and tribal efforts. I thank Senator Murray for her support and leadership in helping secure this funding, and I will continue working to support efforts to protect our state’s wild, endangered salmon population. The Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) supports the conservation and recovery of Pacific salmon across the rivers, watersheds, and coastal areas they inhabit in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho and California. Funds appropriated for Washington State go to the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB). Since 2000, SRFB grants and applicant matching contributions have totaled more than $374 million for funding over 920 projects in Washington. Projects funded by the SRFB result in improvements to salmon habitat and the environment.
Indian Affairs Committee Passes Spokane Settlement Bill
Last week, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee unanimously passed the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation Grand Coulee Dam Equitable Compensation Act, legislation I introduced last year along with Senator Patty Murray (D-WA). The Act will fairly and equitably compensate the Spokane tribe of American Indians for the federal government’s use of tribal land to produce hydropower by the Grand Coulee Dam. The bill passed the Committee, and is now available to be considered by the full Senate. For more than half a century, the Columbia Basin Project has made an extraordinary contribution to this nation. It helped pull the economy out of the Great Depression. It provided the electricity that produced aluminum required for airplanes and weapons that ensured our national security. The Project continues to produce enormous revenues for the United States. It is a key component of the agricultural economy in eastern Washington and provides electricity to towns and cities across the western United States. However, these benefits have come at a direct cost to tribal property that became inundated when the U.S. Government built the Grand Coulee Dam. Before dam construction, the free flowing Columbia River supported robust and plentiful salmon runs and provided for virtually all of the subsistence needs of the Spokane Tribe. This legislation is the product of considerable effort on the behalf of many parties including the Spokane Tribe, and will bring fair and honorable closure to these matters. I will continue to fight on behalf of American Indians in Washington state and make sure there is equitable compensation to the Spokane tribe.
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