Tell Your Representative To Make The Military Clean Up Its Act

The Bush administration wants a blanket exemption from environmental laws for the Department of Defense, even when national security is not at issue. Tell your representative that the military should not be above the law.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: PLEASE OPPOSE READINESS INITIATIVE

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I urge you to oppose the "Readiness and Range Preservation Initiative" provision that is currently being considered by the House Armed Services Committee as part of the Defense Authorization bill. If enacted, the initiative would exempt the Department of Defense from key provisions of important federal laws that protect our health and the environment and have long been supported by the American people, including the Clean Air Act, Superfund, Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

Federal law already allows the Defense Department to obtain exemptions from all of these laws when national security is at stake. I fully support the U.S. military, especially in its efforts to protect our national security, but unless national security is at stake, no government agency should be above the law.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
April 26, 2002

Background Information

Under current law, in times when national security is at stake, the president may waive environmental rules as they apply to the Department of Defense and other government agencies. But the Bush administration has proposed a continuous, across-the-board exemption for the Defense Department from some of our most important environmental laws.

Under the administration's proposal, the DoD would no longer be subject to rules that keep our children safe from dirty air and hazardous waste, protect endangered species, and preserve our oceans and open space. If the administration prevails, key provisions of the Clean Air Act, Superfund, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act would cease to apply to many DoD activities, regardless of whether or not national security is at stake.

The Defense Department is already one of the nation's biggest toxic polluters. And the laws from which the department would be exempt include those that preserve the air and water around our military facilities and protect the health of people who live on or near military bases around the country.

The House of Representatives is currently considering President Bush's proposal as part of the larger Defense Authorization bill.

What to do: Send a message telling your representative that when national security is not at stake, no government agency should be above the law.