June 2007	June 29, 2007
Welcome to the June 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. The issues before the Senate are critical. They shape the direction of our nation. Here's a few of the most important things I've been working on: Raising Fuel Economy Standards for Cars, Trucks and SUVs Closing the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility Restoring the San Joaquin River Candy-flavored Meth: Designed to Hook Our Youth Ensuring Public Access to Santa Rosa Island 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
Raising Fuel Economy Standards for Cars, Trucks and SUVs Return to Top Last week, Senator Olympia Snowe and I joined with a bipartisan group of Senators and did something that few thought possible -- we took on Detroit and won. The Senate voted to approve the largest fuel economy increase in more than two decades -- 10 miles per gallon over 10 years. This legislation will achieve serious savings in our use of oil, make substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and put money back in the pockets of American consumers. It was a step that was long overdue -- and represents a major victory for the American people. The landmark legislation will raise the fleet-wide average fuel economy for all cars, trucks and SUVs from 25 to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. This bill ensures that the U.S. auto industry has the flexibility needed to meet the new fuel economy targets. It will require the Administration to set standards based on the physical attributes of different types of vehicles, such as size or engine power. So, small cars would be compared against small cars, light trucks against light trucks, and SUVs against SUVs. By 2025, the fuel economy increases for cars and light-duty trucks would: Save between 2.0 and 2.5 million barrels of oil per day, nearly the amount of oil imported today from the Persian Gulf. Achieve up to 18 percent reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from anticipated levels, or the equivalent of taking 60 million cars off the road in one year. Save consumers $79-98 billion at the pump, based on a $3.00 gas price. So, let there be no doubt, this is a major step in the right direction. For more information, you can read the news release that explains the details of the legislation. You can watch or listen to my remarks at a news conference to announce the bipartisan compromise that helped ensure Senate passage of the legislation. You can also watch my speech on the Senate Floor, praising passage of the legislation. You can also read a statement that I issued when the Commerce Committee approved the bill. And, you can also read a recent op-ed that I wrote for Roll Call on addressing the problem of reducing emissions from the transportation sector. Please also visit my Global Warming: A Time to Act priority page.
Closing the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility Return to Top I firmly believe that the time has come to close down the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. The detention facility has become a lightning rod for international condemnation. Open-ended detentions and documented reports of detainee abuse have tarnished America’s reputation and complicated our nation’s efforts to fight global terrorism. That’s why I recently introduced legislation to close the detention facility within one year of the bill’s enactment. The legislation also creates several options for dealing with the 385 or so Guantanamo detainees. Some would be brought to high security civilian or military detention facilities in the United States, charged with crimes, and put on trial. Others could be transferred overseas and tried in international tribunals. I know how important it is that terrorists be captured, prosecuted, and punished. At the same time, it is vitally important that the United States sticks to its core principles, including respect for the rule of law. Closing this facility will begin to restore our moral authority, and make our nation more effective in the fight against global terror. And it will help to remove a symbol that directly tarnishes our reputation as the world’s leader in support for the rule of law. Conducting trials in the United States or before internationally recognized tribunals will give them a credibility that they would not have if they were conducted at Guantanamo Bay. This bill takes action where the Administration has failed to do so. It is my hope that this bill one day will become law. For more information, you can read the press release that was issued when this legislation was introduced.
Restoring the San Joaquin River Return to Top The San Joaquin River is one of California’s great waterways – an environmental jewel as well as an important source of water for the Central Valley. It also was a vibrant “living” river, supporting abundant salmon populations until the late 1940s, when about 60 miles of the river was diverted, causing the San Joaquin to run dry in most years. For the past 18 years, environmentalists, the Friant Water Users Authority, and the federal government were engaged in lawsuits over the future of the river. Last September, the parties reached a settlement that will restore the river and its California Central Valley Spring Run Chinook Salmon. The settlement requires federal implementing legislation. So I brought together the interested parties in a series of negotiations to forge a consensus. After two weeks of intense talks, a landmark agreement was reached. In January, I joined with my colleague, Senator Barbara Boxer, to introduce the federal implementing legislation in the Senate. It will help turn the San Joaquin back into a living river while ensuring that the hard-working people living in the Friant service area receive a stable water supply. The legislation gives the Secretary of the Interior the authority to: Take action to restore the San Joaquin River; Reintroduce the California Central Valley Spring Run Chinook Salmon; Minimize water supply impacts on Friant water users; and Avoid reductions in water supply for third party water-contractors. This is the product of hard work and compromise, and I believe that it will lead to a result that everyone can live with. The San Joaquin is one of California’s great rivers—this legislation will help bring it back to life. For more information, you can read my testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power, regarding the legislation to restore the San Joaquin River. You can also learn more about the restoration efforts on my Priorities page.
Candy-flavored Meth: Designed to Hook Our Youth Return to Top Since January 2007, reports have emerged across the country about a dangerous new trend: candy-flavored meth. According to law enforcement officers and drug treatment officials, methamphetamine and other illegal drugs are being colored, packaged and flavored in ways designed to attract children and minors. Candy-flavored meth – with child-friendly names like Strawberry Quick – is designed to get youngsters to try it a few times. It’s all about hooking young people early, and we have to stop this illicit practice in its tracks before it grows any further. That’s why I introduced legislation in April to increase the federal criminal penalties for drug dealers who entice children with candy-flavored methamphetamine and other flavored drugs. This legislation will increase the criminal penalties for anyone who markets candy-flavored drugs to our youth – by imposing on them the same increased penalties applied to the dealers who distribute drugs to minors. If passed, this legislation will give dealers a reason to think twice before marketing illegal drugs to target our children. In San Francisco, police report that since the beginning of the year they have been arresting teens in possession of meth designed to taste like chocolate. The Haight-Asbury clinic also confirms that chocolate-flavored methamphetamine is being used on the streets. And the Drug Enforcement Administration reports that candy meth has already spread to California, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, Texas, New Mexico, Missouri and Minnesota. So, I’ve also asked the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the Advertising Council to consider developing public service campaigns to increase awareness about the disturbing new trend of drug dealers marketing candy-flavored meth to children. Parents must be warned of this threat and take action to prevent their children from getting lured in by this new, candy-flavored drug. For more information, you can read the press release I issued when the legislation was introduced on April 25, 2007.
Ensuring Public Access to Santa Rosa Island Return to Top Santa Rosa Island is the second largest of the five islands making up the Channel Islands National Park, located off the coast of Ventura, California. Its rugged and unique natural habitat is home to 11 endangered species, including the bald eagle, rare plants, and native birds and foxes. It is unspoiled and ecologically sensitive with terrain ranging from grassy hills to steep, wind-carved canyons to white sandy beaches. Currently, up to 90 percent of the island is closed to the public from mid-August to mid-November, so that trophy hunts targeting non-native deer and elk can take place. These non-native deer and elk are scheduled to be removed from the island by 2011, according to a court-ordered settlement reached in 1997. However, late last year, there was a provision slipped into the 2007 Defense Authorization bill that could limit future public access to Santa Rosa Island. And it could complicate the National Park Service’s efforts to carry out the settlement to remove non-native deer and elk. I believe the continued limitation of public access to the island would be a mistake. This is the public’s land. It’s a national park, and the public should be able to visit it and enjoy its breath-taking beauty and remoteness year round. That is why Senator Boxer and I have introduced legislation to repeal the provision sponsored by Congressman Hunter, thereby ensuring that the court-ordered settlement to restore full public access to the island by 2011 could be implemented without any complication. The core of this legislation was included in the Fiscal Year 2008 Interior Appropriations bill, which was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee last week. I strongly believe that the Park Service should continue to manage this National Park for the benefit of the general public. This legislation would safeguard Santa Rosa Island in just this manner. To allow any less would be a waste of taxpayer dollars and wrongly limit the public’s access to this national treasure. For more information, you can read the news release about the FY 2008 Interior Appropriations bill, and the inclusion of the Santa Rosa legislation. You can also read the testimony that I recently delivered to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. And you can learn more about this legislation by reading the press release issued when the bill was introduced.
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