December 11, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10901 

and without that manufacturing base. 

So we have to do what is necessary to 

push Detroit toward a stronger, more 

efficient future. It may be that at some 

point in the future, that industry will 

have a different look to it. Maybe it 

will have a different look to it. We do 

not know that. But what we do know 

now is that what has hit Detroit is far 

more than making the wrong choices 

about what cars they produce. I think 

they made those wrong choices, but it 

is far bigger than that because every 

company in America and outside of 

America that is making cars is suffering today because of the terrible recession we are in, because of a lack of 

consumer confidence, because of a loss 

of equity in the stock market, because 

of home foreclosures, because of all of 

these things. 

So I say you never know what could 

happen in the future. I am not able to 

predict it because I cannot. But I know 

what I have to do now. I have to think 

about those three things: jobs, jobs, 

and jobs. When I think about that, and 

I recognize that just today we had 

more filings for unemployment insurance than we have had in 26 years, I 

say for us to walk away from this without this scaled-down bridge loan would 

be playing Russian roulette with this 

recession. I love my country too much 

to do that. With all of the problems I 

have with Detroit, I will support helping them in this fashion. 

f 

EXTENSION OF MORNING 

BUSINESS 

Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I ask 

unanimous consent that the period for 

morning business be extended until 2 

p.m., with Senators permitted to speak 

for up to 10 minutes each. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. 

MCCASKILL). Without objection, it is so 

ordered. 

Mrs. BOXER. I suggest the absence of 

a quorum. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will call the roll. 

The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. 

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I 

ask unanimous consent that the order 

for the quorum call be rescinded. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

f 

ORDER OF PROCEDURE 

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I 

also ask unanimous consent that Senator NELSON of Florida be allowed to 

speak after me. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

Mr. BARRASSO. Thank you very 

much, Madam President. 

f 

CLEANUP OF NUCLEAR MISSILE 

SITE IN CHEYENNE, WYOMING 

Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I 

stand here today holding a 500-page report, a report that was sent to my office yesterday by the Army Corps of 

Engineers. I will not read the whole report, I am happy to say, but I want to 

call attention to the Senate and to the 

country, as well as to the people of Wyoming, what is contained within this 

report. 

This report, at a cost of who knows 

how many taxpayer dollars, says something I have known and the people of 

Wyoming have known to be true. It 

says the Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for the contamination of the 

water wells of the city of Cheyenne. 

Now, let me clarify. The report does 

not actually say the words ‘‘we are responsible.’’ Washington could never 

admit its faults so directly. No. Instead, the report states that other potential sources of contamination, other 

potential sources of this trichloroethylene—the contaminant, the chemical that is in our city’s wells—it says 

that other potential sources ‘‘may be 

limited.’’ I guess that is Washington’s 

way of saying: It was us. 

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and the city of 

Cheyenne found evidence of trichloroethylene in the water supply in 1998—10 

years ago. The culprit is a dormant 

Cold War-era nuclear missile area. It is 

a missile site and has been there for a 

long time. The Army Corps of Engineers admits that over 1,800 gallons of 

this contaminant, TCE, was dumped at 

the Atlas 4 nuclear missile site each 

year—each year—of the operation of 

the missile site, beginning in the mid1960s. 

Well, the discharge of TCE the Army 

Corps admits to is a mere 1 mile—1 

mile—from the water wells of the city 

of Cheyenne. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality has 

claimed there is one giant plume of 

TCE emanating from the former nuclear missile site, working its way into 

and then contaminating the city’s 

water wells. The missile site is currently being cleaned up under the 

Superfund laws by the Army Corps of 

Engineers. Unfortunately, the Army 

Corps only admits culpability for TCE 

contamination directly emanating 

from the nuclear missile site. They allege that there is actually a gap between the plume they admit to at the 

nuclear missile site and the one around 

the city’s water wells—1 mile apart. 

Now, you might think it odd that the 

Department of Defense, given the volume of this chemical that has been 

dumped year after year in rural Wyoming, would not admit that it was the 

responsible party for contaminating 

the city’s wells. That would just make 

sense. They would say: Yes, we dumped 

it here. It is right here, a mile away in 

the wells. It is our fault. No. It would 

just make sense to us that they would 

admit it. But, in fact, the Army Corps 

over the last few years has looked to 

blame almost anyone else, has looked 

to blame others than to say they are 

responsible for contaminating the 

city’s wells. Well, such claims have included that there might have been a 

train derailment and the train might 

have been carrying TCE into the area. 

They said it might have been from a 

nearby oil rig, it might have been from 

a local shooting range. The Army 

Corps said: Anybody but us. 

I became involved in this issue after 

I felt the city of Cheyenne and the Wyoming Department of Environmental 

Quality were being ignored by Washington. As ranking member of the 

Superfund and Environmental Health 

Subcommittee, I pushed for testing of 

the ground in that 1-mile area between 

the nuclear missile site and the water 

wells of the city of Cheyenne. The 

Army Corps finally agreed to do the 

testing and said it would also look into 

the historical use of this chemical in 

the Cheyenne area to make sure there 

was not another responsible party for 

the contamination. 

The final results—all 500 pages—were 

finally released this week. To no one’s 

surprise who lives in Wyoming, to no 

one’s surprise who is familiar with this 

issue, to no one’s surprise but the 

Army Corps of Engineers, the contaminating chemical, TCE, was found in the 

ground between the nuclear missile 

site and the city’s water wells, right 

where we said it would be. The report 

also revealed they found no other public records of TCE use in the Cheyenne 

area for any other reason. It just 

makes sense to us, and the cause is 

clear. Given these findings, it is time 

for the Army Corps to provide the 

funding the city needs to manage and 

to complete the current cleanup efforts. 

Now, let me be clear. The city of 

Cheyenne’s water is safe. Untold thousands of taxpayer dollars have gone to 

keep TCE out of the water supply. The 

city of Cheyenne and the State of Wyoming have implemented the effective 

procedures to protect the folks in 

Cheyenne. Those efforts have been 

completely successful. But the Army 

Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Government have the responsibility to 

fund the cleanup. They have responsibility to fix the problem, and this report says it is so. It is time to do so. 

Madam President, I yield the floor. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida. 

f 

TRIBUTE TO SENATORS 

JOHN WARNER

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Madam 

President, I wish to take this opportunity to pay tribute to a true patriot 

and a dear friend, Senator JOHN WARNER of Virginia. 

It has been an extraordinary experience for me to serve with Senator WARNER on the Armed Services Committee 

and the Intelligence Committee. 

In the capacity of his service on the 

Armed Services Committee, which has 

been upwards of three decades, serving 

as its chairman, the insight and guidance he has provided has been invaluable. Over and over, you will hear the