Political Quotes

“the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program [CSEPP] was established in 1988 to assist communities near the eight chemical weapons storage sites in the United States. The program, currently managed jointly by the Army and FEMA, provides States and local governments funding and technical assistance to improve emergency response capabilities for an accident involving the chemical stockpile. Although the Federal Government has spend $387 million on CSEPP, communities near the storage sites are not fully prepared to respond to a chemical emergency. Since 1993, GAO reports have attributed CSEPP's lack of progress to Federal management weaknesses including fragmented responsibilities, poor guidance, and inadequate financial controls. The amendment I am offering today to H.R. 3230, 1997 National Defense authorization bill, seeks to rectify this situation. Efforts are ongoing between the Army, FEMA, and the States to establish site specific integrated product and process teams as a management tool for the CSEPP portion of the Chemical Demilitarization Program. In view of CSEPP's past management difficulties, I encourage the expeditious establishment of the IPT's. My amendment requires the Army to report within 120 days of enactment on the success of the IPT process.”