National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006

NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006 -- (Senate - July 22, 2005)

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Mr. ALLARD. I thank the Chair.

Madam President, I rise in opposition to the amendment to strike the $4 million appropriation for the robust nuclear earth penetrator commonly known as RNEP. There are some comments made in the debate today to which I would like to add my perspective because they were basically incorrect.

We have been debating this amendment for the past 3 years. And we have been passing this provision in the Senate, defeating any amendments to take it out of legislation. In all the testimony I have had over the past 3 years as chairman of the Strategic Subcommittee, which my distinguished colleague from Alabama now chairs, never once has anybody, in testifying before that committee, said that there will not be any nuclear fallout. Not once have they indicated that they felt this was going to lead us into an arms race.

Here is what we have done. This is what they have talked about, taking some of the nuclear warheads that we now have in our nuclear arsenal and redesigning those in a way in which they might be more effective, if we happen to have a deep bunker that is posing a threat to Americans, whether American soldiers or American citizens.

We need to have a study. That is what this provision is all about. What we are talking about is reducing the amount of collateral damage. That means reducing the amount of, perhaps, nuclear fallout or perhaps reducing the blast range because you take all that energy and you drive it down into the ground instead of driving it in a horizontal direction, which obviously means for collateral damage. They are talking about focusing the study on the B-83 warhead which is part of our arsenal today. That is all we are talking about, a study. We are going to be looking at the current arsenal makeup of weapons that we have to modify them to reduce collateral damage. I think that is a commendable goal. I think it warrants the support of the Members of the Senate.

This bill includes funding of $4 million to continue the Air Force-led feasibility study. This is a study on the robust nuclear earth penetrator. This is not a new issue for Congress to consider. In both the defense authorization and the Energy and Water appropriations bills, amendments have been offered to cut all funding for the robust nuclear earth penetrator. These amendments have been defeated on multiple occasions.

The purpose of the RNEP feasibility study is to determine if an existing nuclear weapon can be modified to penetrate into hard rock in order to destroy a deeply buried target that could be hiding weapons of mass destruction or command and control assets. The Department of Energy has modified nuclear weapons in the past to modernize their safety and security and reliability aspects. We have also modified existing nuclear weapons to meet our new military requirements. Under the Clinton administration, we modified the B-61 so it could penetrate frozen soils. The RNEP feasibility study is narrowly focused to determine whether the B-83 warhead can be modified to penetrate hard rock or reinforced underground facilities.

Funding research on options, both nuclear and conventional, for attacking such targets is a responsible step for our country to take. As many as 70 nations are developing or have built hardened and deeply buried targets to protect command and communications and weapons of mass destruction production and storage assets. Of that number, a number of nations have facilities that are sufficiently hard and deep enough that we cannot destroy most of them with our conventional weapons. Some of them are so sophisticated that they are beyond the current U.S. nuclear weapons capability.

I believe it is prudent and imperative that we fund this study. I emphasize again, this is a study on the potential capabilities to address this growing category of threat.

Should the Department of Energy determine, through this study, that the robust nuclear earth penetrator can meet the requirements to hold a hard and deeply buried target at risk, the Department still could not proceed to full-scale weapon development, production or deployment without an authorization and appropriation from Congress. Let me repeat that. The Department of Energy cannot go ahead, beyond this study, without the express authorization or appropriation from Congress.

Frankly, we should allow our weapons experts to determine if the robust nuclear earth penetrator could destroy hardened and deeply buried targets. That is the purpose of the study. Then Congress could have the information it would need to make a responsible decision as to whether development of such a program is appropriate and necessary to maintain our Nation's security.

Again, I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment before us.

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Mr. ALLARD. Madam President, I rise to discuss amendment No. 1419 and the incredible achievements of the workers at the Department of Energy's Rocky Flats environmental technology site and to offer an amendment on behalf of these workers. Rocky Flats is located a few miles northwest of Denver, CO. For four decades, this facility was the Department of Energy's dedicated site for manufacturing plutonium pits for the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.

This highly classified production facility was run by over 8,000 Coloradans who worked day and night for most of the Cold War and used some of the most dangerous substances known to man, including plutonium, beryllium, and uranium. The workers at Rocky Flats were devoted to their jobs and believed in their mission. They risked their lives on a daily basis and did so with the knowledge that their efforts were contributing to the security of our Nation. They are heroes of the Cold War and have earned our respect, admiration, and our appreciation.

When plutonium pit production ended in 1991, it was unclear what role these workers would play in the cleanup of Rocky Flats. They could have walked away from the job. They had performed their duty with excellence for nearly 40 years. No one could ask them to do more. Yet the workers at Rocky Flats were not ready to quit. They saw a new challenge in front of them--a challenge they could not walk away from. They knew the cleanup would be difficult and very dangerous, but they were not deterred.

These workers stayed and, over the next decade, they performed magnificently. Their task was anything but simple. Five large plutonium processing facilities encompassing over a million square feet were highly contaminated with dangerous radioactive material. The contamination was so severe that these buildings were ranked among the top 10 contaminated facilities in the DOE nuclear weapons complex. Building No. 771, in particular, was even singled out by the national media as ``the most dangerous building in America.''

The cleaning and eventual demolishing of these buildings was just the beginning. Hundreds of vials of contaminated process piping interlaced the complex. More than a dozen infinity rooms were so contaminated that they had been sealed and abandoned--some for as long as 30 years. Hundreds of tons of plutonium compound, uranium byproducts, and other radioactive and toxic residues remained at Rocky Flats.

Yet the workers at Rocky Flats were not deterred. They had built components using some of the most dangerous substances the world has ever known. Now they were ready to tackle one of the most dangerous cleanup projects ever contemplated.

In 1992, Rocky Flats was transferred to the DOE's environmental management program for the purpose of cleaning up the contamination and waste. Few knew where to begin. The unprecedented size and magnitude of the project was simply daunting. It took years to just figure out the best approach to the project. The expected cost was also staggering. In 1995, the cleanup was predicted to cost upward of $35 billion and to take 70 years to complete.

When I came to the Senate in 1996, the cleanup of Rocky Flats had been dragging out for nearly 4 years with little progress. Tons of weapons-grade plutonium remained and most buildings at Rocky Flats had not been touched. More than 2 million 55-gallon drums of waste needed to be removed.

I found this lack of progress simply unacceptable. The safety of the people of Colorado was at risk and the American taxpayer could ill afford to allow this project to drag on indefinitely. At my urging, the DOE, in 2000, finally put the resources into accelerating the cleanup of Rocky Flats. Under the leadership of then-Under Secretary Bob Card, and then-Assistant Secretary Jesse Roberson, the

DOE took the unprecedented step of rethinking its approach to the cleanup. These creative leaders challenged the lead contractor, CH2M HILL, and the workers at Rocky Flats to move much more aggressively. They were given the seemingly impossible mission of completing the cleanup of the massive contamination at Rocky Flats by 2007, at a cost of less than $7 billion.

Most scoffed at this approach. They believed there would be considerable cost overruns and schedule delays. They didn't think CH2M HILL could effectively execute this kind of contract. Most of all, they doubted the commitment of the workers at Rocky Flats. They could not fathom why these workers would work themselves out of a job. Even the GAO doubted the ability of the workers at Rocky Flats to ship massive quantities of waste required to achieve closure by 2006.

I, however, had faith in the workers at Rocky Flats. I am pleased to state today that Kaiser-Hill and the workers at Rocky Flats have not disappointed me. In fact, it appears that Kaiser-Hill and the workers at Rocky Flats are far exceeding their cleanup commitments.

I cannot express the full extent of how proud I am of their achievement. Listen to some of their accomplishments: All weapons grade plutonium was removed in 2003.

More than 1,400 contaminated glove boxes and hundreds of process tanks have been removed.

More than 400,000 cubic meters of low-level radioactive waste has been removed.

Six hundred and fifty of the eight hundred and two facilities have been demolished.

All four uranium production facilities have been demolished.

All five plutonium production facilities have been demolished or will be within the next 3 months.

Three hundred and ten of three hundred and sixty sites of soil contamination have been remediated.

The last shipment of transuranic waste was shipped this past April.

It now appears that the cleanup of Rocky Flats will be completed--completed--as early as this October, a full year ahead of schedule, and save the American taxpayers not thousands, not millions, but billions upon billions of dollars.

Mr. President, you can only appreciate the magnitude of this accomplishment when you realize that within 6 years, Rocky Flats will have been transformed from one of the dangerous places on Earth to a beautiful and safe natural wildlife refuge.

I applaud the leadership provided by CH2M HILL. The management expert provided by this company was critical to this effort. Kaiser-Hill took the challenge head on despite the tough schedule and limited funding. The company can be proud of its accomplishments and its contribution to the safety of the people of Colorado.

Yet CH2M HILL could not have achieved the demanding goals established by the Department of Energy without the hard work and determination of the Rocky Flats workers. Most of these workers had to literally develop an entire new skill set. They went from manufacturing plutonium pits to dismantling glove boxes. They cleaned up rooms that were so contaminated that they were forced to use the highest level of respiratory protection available.

Perhaps more important, these workers were extraordinarily productive even though they knew they were essentially working themselves out of a job. With the completion of the cleanup and closure of Rocky Flats, they knew they would have to find employment elsewhere. There was no guarantee that the next job would pay as much or provide the same level of benefits.

Despite knowing they were going to lose their jobs, the workers at Rocky Flats remained highly motivated and totally committed to their cleanup mission. They believed in what they were doing and worked hard to clean up the facility as quickly and as safely as possible. They achieved more in less time and with less money than anyone dreamed possible. I am proud of the workers at Rocky Flats. I believe they have once again earned our Nation's sincere appreciation and respect.

Given the sacrifice and dedication demonstrated by these workers, you would think the Department of Energy would do everything it could to ensure that these workers received the compensation and benefits they have earned.

You would think assisting those workers who lose their retirement benefits because of the early completion of the cleanup would be a top priority of the Department. After all, these workers saved the Department billions upon billions in cleanup costs.

Last year, it became clear to the DOE and to me that the cleanup at Rocky Flats could be completed much earlier than anyone expected. The workers were supportive of early closure but were concerned that some of their colleagues would lose retirement benefits because of early closure.

I share their concern and requested in last year's

Defense authorization bill that the DOE provide Congress with a report on the number of workers who would not receive retirement benefits and the cost of providing these benefits. After a lengthy delay, the DOE reported that about 29 workers would not receive pension and/or lifetime medical benefits because of early closure. The cost of providing benefits to these workers is estimated to be just over $12 million.

To my dismay, I discovered the DOE's report was woefully incomplete. I was subsequently informed that at least another 50 workers would have qualified for retirement benefits had the DOE bothered to include those workers who had already been laid off because of the accelerated closure schedule.

Mr. President, this means as many as 75 workers at Rocky Flats will lose their pensions, medical benefits, or, in some cases, both because they worked faster, less expensively, and achieved more than they were supposed to. They not only worked themselves out of a job but also out of retirement benefits and medical care.

I find the Department of Energy's refusal to pay these benefits to be outrageous.

Many of the workers at Rocky Flats served our Nation for over two decades. They have risked their lives day in and day out, first by building nuclear weapon components, and then by cleaning up some of the most contaminated buildings in the world. All they have asked for in return is to be treated with fairness and honesty.

To my disappointment, and to the disappointment of the workers at Rocky Flats, the DOE cannot seem to keep its end of the bargain.

These workers would have received retirement benefits had the cleanup continued to 2035, as originally predicted. The workers would have received their retirement benefits had the cleanup continued to December 15, 2006, as the site contract specified. But by accelerating the cleanup by over a year and saving the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, these workers are left without the retirement benefits they deserve and, I feel, have justly earned.

Mr. President, the Department's refusal to provide these benefits has ramifications far beyond Rocky Flats. Because Rocky Flats is the first major DOE cleanup site, workers at other sites around the country are watching to see how the DOE treats the workers at Rocky Flats. Unfortunately, they have seen how the DOE has failed to step up and provide retirement benefits to those who have earned it.

The workers at other sites now have no incentive to accelerate cleanup. Why should they? The Department of Energy hasn't lifted a finger to help the workers at Rocky Flats. It would be foolish for workers at other sites to think the DOE would act fairly with them if they accelerated cleanup.

To me, the Department's decision is penny-wise and pound-foolish. By refusing to provide these benefits, the Department saves money in the short term. Yet by discouraging the workers from supporting acceleration, the Department is going to cost the American taxpayers hundreds of millions in additional funding in the long run.

I believe Congress needs to correct the Department's mistake before it is too late.

Today, I offer an amendment that will provide some of the benefits to those workers who have lost them because of early closure. I am pleased that my colleague from Colorado, Senator Salazar, has agreed to cosponsor this important amendment. I support his bipartisan effort. The amendment is narrowly focused on providing health, medical, and life insurance benefits to those workers affected.

This amendment is limited in the funding it provides. It is solely focused on providing these benefits to those workers who would have received health, medical, and life insurance benefits had the site remained open until December 15, 2005, the date of the site cleanup contract.

To be clear, these benefits are not an additional bonus for a job well done, nor is it a going away present for those two decades of service. The health, medical, and life insurance benefits are what these workers have already earned--nothing more, nothing less.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. These workers have earned these benefits, and it is up to this body to see they receive it.

Let's not let the bureaucrats in the Department of Energy tarnish the credibility of the Federal Government. It is time for this body to correct this mistake before the Department's foolishness costs the American taxpayers even more money in the future.

I yield the floor.

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Mr. ALLARD. Madam President, I appreciate the fine work of the Senator from Alabama, a good friend of mine. There are a couple points I would like to make.

The workers at Rocky Flats were paid by Federal dollars. They were not technically employed by the Federal Government. Their benefits were paid by the Federal Government. There is a commitment there, in my view. This amendment tries to correct any legal problems we may have there.

Again, I appreciate the concern and interest the chairman of the Subcommittee on Strategic Affairs has toward this issue. I hope somehow we can resolve this in all fairness, not only to the taxpayers but also to the workers.

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