May 2005

Welcome to the May edition of my Washington Report. I hope this newsletter keeps you informed about some of the important matters facing our State, our Nation, and the U.S. Senate.

In this edition, you'll find information about the following:

• Tackling the Meth Problem
• Opposing the Nuclear Option on Judges
• Funding to Prepare for Wildfire Season
• Maintaining a Strong Military in California and Overseas

If you have any comments or questions on these or any other issues, please don't hesitate to let me know. Please send any comments you have through my website.

Best wishes,

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein

Tackling the Meth Problem
Methamphetamine use has swept across the nation in recent years, leaving behind a trail of destroyed lives, shattered families, crime sprees, and hazardous waste. It is a horribly destructive drug which is highly addictive, causes bizarre and often violent behaviors, and is both cheap and accessible. And for years, obtaining the materials to make meth has been as simple as taking a trip to the local store.

Meth labs fueled by over-the-counter purchases of huge quantities of pseudoephedrine products pose a serious danger. These small labs are often located in houses or apartments, endangering families by exposing them to toxic chemicals and bringing meth production right next door to law-abiding citizens.

The good news is that there has been an important victory in the battle against methamphetamine in recent months – the voluntary decision of 9 major retailers including Target, Wal-Mart, and Longs Drugs to put cold medicines containing a key ingredient in the manufacture of meth behind the counter. This step by retailers will make it much tougher for meth cooks to produce this devastating drug.

Read the latest news about my efforts to tackle meth: Longs Drugs Stores Endorses Feinstein/Talent Anti-Meth Legislation (5/6/05)

Senator Feinstein Lauds Retailers for Plans to Place
Pseudoephedrine Behind Pharmacy Counter (4/25/05)

Opposing the Nuclear Option on Judges
Over the years we have had heated debates and strong disagreements over judicial nominees. However, that debate is what ensures the Senate confirms the best qualified candidates. I am deeply troubled when our legitimate differences over an individual’s qualifications to be given a lifetime appointment to the federal bench become reduced to inflammatory rhetoric. I am even more concerned when rhetoric turns into open discussions about breaking Senate rules and turning the Senate into a body where might makes right.

The majority party in the United States Senate has decided the time has come to unravel the Senate’s traditional role of debate; and that the time has come to break the rules and discard Senate precedent. I am very concerned about this strategy. It is important to remember that once done, once broken, it will be hard to limit and hard to reverse. The strategy of a nuclear option will turn the Senate into a body that could have its rules broken or changed at any time by a majority of Senators unhappy with any position taken by the minority. As I said, this is not the Senate envisioned by our Founding Fathers, and it is not the Senate in which I have been proud to serve for the past 12 years.

Read my recent floor speech on the nuclear option on judges: Senator Feinstein Declares Opposition to “Nuclear Option” (5/10/05)

Funding to Prepare for Wildfire Season
Last winter, 70 to 90 inches of rain fell in Southern California forests, causing mudslides and flooding in the region’s national forests. According to the Forest Service, up to 95 percent of the back roads through the Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres, and San Bernardino national forests have been washed away or covered by mudslides. These roads are crucial to fire suppression. Without repair, 2.3 million acres will be inaccessible to firefighters this summer.

I'm pleased to report that the supplemental appropriations approved by Congress includes a provision I sponsored to provide $24.3 million in emergency funding to repair national forest roads and facilities in Southern California that were damaged by this winter's flooding. This funding is critical to efforts to fight potentially catastrophic forest fires. Without this funding, fire crews simply would not be able to reach vast tracts of land, and entire forests could go up in smoke. This funding is urgently needed to fix the roads, protect communities, and save lives.

To learn more about this funding, please go to: Senate-House Conference Committee Provides $24.3 Million to Fix Flood-Damaged Roads in Southern California Forests (5/3/05)

Maintaining a Strong Military in California and Overseas
This week California base communities will learn what bases the Pentagon plans to close around the State. I have already been working with my fellow members of the California Congressional Delegation along with Governor Schwarzenegger to ensure that we maintain both a strong military and a strong economy in our many base communities. We are working together to keep California from being disproportionately impacted by this round of base closures as it has been in the past.

As the ranking member of the Military Construction Subcommittee, I am also very concerned about the Defense Department's plans to shutter bases overseas. I fear that we may be rushing into a wholesale rearrangement of U.S. forces without adequate input or a thorough analysis of the costs and impact on our armed forces in a post-9/11 world.

It is critical that the global basing strategy be synchronized, in terms of pace, timing, and cost, with ongoing operations such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and with other strategic analyses, such as the Quadrennial Defense Review and the upcoming round of domestic base closures. From what I have learned so far from the Overseas Basing Commission, I have serious questions about whether this is being done.

Read more about the issue of base closures: Statement by Senator Dianne Feinstein On the Overseas Basing Commission Report (5/4/05)

The Pentagon's Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Site

State of California BRAC Site

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