Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) made the following statement about the decision to withdraw the provision sponsored by House Armed Services Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) to transfer Santa Rosa Island off the Southern California coast from the National Park Service to the Department of Defense. The provision had been proposed as an amendment to the FY06 Defense Authorization bill.

“I was very pleased to see that Congressman Hunter withdrew his last-minute proposal to give Santa Rosa Island to the Department of Defense to create a ‘morale, welfare, and recreation operation’ for the military,” Senator Feinstein said.

“It is my understanding that all parties will work together on any change in status in the future. I will be following this matter closely because I believe that the nature of the land and its ruggedness makes it very difficult to be used for the purposes that the Congressman intended.

The people of California should continue to have access to this land. If this measure had become law, it could have restricted access to this land and ostensibly turned it into a private reserve for members of the armed services and veterans.”

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