Weekly Update

Weekly Update for Monday, February 12, 2007

Protecting Wild Sky as Wilderness

Last week, I joined Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Rick Larsen in reintroducing legislation to create the Wild Sky Wilderness just north of Highway 2 in the Cascade Mountains. Our bill passed the Senate three times already, but kept getting held up in the House. It's long past time we added this magnificent natural treasure to our nation's wilderness system, and this year we will get the job done. Preserving Wild Sky will boost tourism in nearby gateway communities, safeguard accessible recreation opportunities, and protect more than 100,000 acres of Washington 's magnificent natural heritage. Wild Sky would be the first new wilderness in our state in more than two decades, protecting higher elevations as well as lowland forests and salmon streams in the Snoqualmie and Beckler river valleys. Senator Murray and Congressman Larsen have dedicated years of work and meetings with local residents and stakeholders to craft a well-balanced bill. We have a responsibility to preserve Washington 's greatest places for the collective enjoyment of current and future generations, and I will work with my Northwest colleagues to see this legislation signed into law as soon as possible.

Making Sure Our Federal Budget Supports First Responders

The president's new budget proposal, released last week, undermines the federal government's commitments to homeland security, law enforcement, and veterans at a time when they need our support most. Our country's ports, borders, and transportation systems remain vulnerable and we should be getting more resources to our law enforcement officers, not cutting the vital programs that help them stay prepared and keep our communities safe.

The Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS) program and Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) are two crime-fighting tools slated for significant cuts in the president's budget. The COPS program helps local law enforcement agencies hire officers, acquire new technology, and back crime prevention initiatives. JAG supports state and local drug task forces, community crime prevention programs, and prosecution initiatives, and is vital in the fight against meth. These two initiatives have a long and proven record of helping keep neighborhoods safe for Washington families and I will work to make sure we fund them in full.

We also have a responsibility to provide our veterans the recognition, the care, and the assistance they were promised and deserve. But the president's budget would mean higher healthcare costs and prescription co-pays for the majority of Washington 's 629,000 veterans, and falls short of meeting rising medical costs and increasing demand. I will work to make sure our nation stands by our veterans. They've sacrificed so much for our country and deserve our full support.

Keeping Fairchild's Rescue Helicopters in the Northwest

This year's budget proposal would eliminate the 36 th Rescue Flight, which operates four helicopters out of Fairchild Air Force Base, beginning in early 2008. Losing these helicopters at the only Air Force Survival School in the country would weaken training opportunities for military personnel and reduce search and rescue resources in Washington , Oregon , Montana , and Idaho , putting lives at risk. In addition to training 3,000 airmen each year, crews from the 36 th have played a critical role in rescuing 613 service members and civilians since 1971. The 36 th has served our region for decades, and I will keep working to reverse these funding cuts to make sure these critical assets remain in the Northwest.

http://cantwell.senate.gov/news/weekly_update.cfm