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Este informe no está disponible en español. U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee HearingU.S. SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE HOLDS A HEARING ON DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NOMINATIONSJune 22, 2001 SPEAKERS: U.S. SENATOR CARL LEVIN (D-MI), CHAIRMAN U.S. SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY (D-MA) U.S. SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD (D-WV) U.S. SENATOR JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN (D-CT) U.S. SENATOR MAX CLELAND (D-GA) U.S. SENATOR MARY LANDRIEU (D-LA) U.S. SENATOR JACK REED (D-RI) U.S. SENATOR DANIEL AKAKA (D-HI) U.S. SENATOR BILL NELSON (D-FL) U.S. SENATOR BEN NELSON (D-NE) U.S. SENATOR JEAN CARNAHAN (D-MO) U.S. SENATOR MARK DAYTON (D-OH) U.S. SENATOR JOHN WARNER (R-VA), RANKING MEMBER U.S. SENATOR STROM THURMOND (R-SC) U.S. SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ) U.S. SENATOR ROBERT C. SMITH (R-NH) U.S. SENATOR JAMES M. INHOFE (R-OK) U.S. SENATOR RICK SANTORUM (R-PA) U.S. SENATOR PAT ROBERTS (R-KS) U.S. SENATOR WAYNE ALLARD (R-CO) U.S. SENATOR TIM HUTCHINSON (R-AR) U.S. SENATOR JEFF SESSIONS (R-AL) U.S. SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME) U.S. SENATOR JIM BUNNING (R-KY) WITNESSES: ALBERTO JOSE MORA NOMINATED TO BE GENERAL COUNSEL DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY DIANE MORALES NOMINATED TO BE DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR LOGISTICS AND MATERIAL READINESS STEVEN JOHN MORELLO NOMINATED TO BE GENERAL COUNSEL DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY WILLIAM NAVAS NOMINATED TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY FOR MANPOWER AND RESERVE AFFAIRS MICHAEL WYNNE NOMINATED TO BE DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR ACQUISITION AND TECHNOLOGY
LEVIN: The committee will come to order. The committee meets today to consider the nominations of Alberto Jose Mora to be general counsel of the Department of the Navy; Diane K. Morales to be deputy undersecretary of defense for logistics and material readiness; Steven John Morello, Sr., to be general counsel of the Department of the Army; William A. Navas, Jr., to be assistant secretary of the Navy for manpower and reserve affairs; and Michael W. Wynne to be deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition and technology. On behalf of the entire committee, I'd like to welcome you, your families and friends. At the Armed Services Committee, we have a tradition on this committee of asking our nominees if they'd like to introduce family members who might be present, and why don't we do that now?
LEVIN: Welcome, everybody. Mr. Navas? NAVAS: Mr. Chairman, I'd like to introduce my spouse of 36 years, Wilda (ph). She's here to give me the support she has given me throughout the years. LEVIN: Mr. Navas, relative to Vieques, you're the chairman of the American Veterans Committee for Puerto Rico's Self-Determination. I understand the committee has not taken a position on the Navy's continued use of Vieques. That really was a press release that has been brought to our attention which was issued by the committee of which you are chair earlier this year which has the following statement: "The Vieques issue should not overshadow a century of commitment to the United States by the American citizens of Puerto Rico. Instead, it should remind us that despite all their contribution to the United States, the people of Puerto Rico remain second class citizens. Vieques is a symptom of a relationship which does not provide any mechanism for the people of Puerto Rico to address their just grievances." Could you tell us what your own position is on the Navy's use of Vieques? Also, if you would, please comment on the present situation, the law which provides for a referendum of the people of Vieques, and the recent events on Vieques. NAVAS: Yes, Mr. Chairman. The issue is a very complex issue. On one side, as a veteran, as a combat veteran of 33 years in the Army, I strongly support realistic training as a principal underpinning of combat readiness. And at the present time, Vieques provides the Navy and the Marine Corps team with an ideal place in which to conduct this training, and that, basically, is the issue on one side. On the other hand, the work that I did with the committee basically saw the issue in Vieques as a symptom of a broader issue, which is the fact that the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico, for the last 100 years, has not been resolved to the point where the people of Puerto Rico would have the right to self- determination and sovereignty. And, basically, at the extremes of the spectrum would be Puerto Rico becoming the 51st state of the Union or Puerto Rico becoming an independent republic in its own terms. In those cases, the relationship, vis-a-vis, the issues would have been dealt differently. So I am torn between basically two issues, the issue on one hand of the requirement for combat readiness, which I strongly believe and I have supported, and then on the other hand a more broader issue of resolving at some point the 100-year history of disenfranchisement of over 3.8 million Puerto Rican citizens who do not have the opportunity to vote for the president or do not have representation in our system. LEVIN: What role would you expect to be playing with regard to Vieques if confirmed? NAVAS: Mr. Chairman, my portfolio, obviously, is personnel issues. I have not been involved in any of the issues. I would play whatever role the secretary of the Navy sees fit for me. I would say, intuitively, that I might be able to provide him with some background, some insights on the broader issues of Puerto Rico, because of the fact that I was born and educated and for the last six years have been a resident of Puerto Rico. LEVIN: Mr. Mora, what are your objectives, if confirmed, relative to Vieques, and what role would you be playing? MORA: Well, sir, as chief legal counsel for the Department of the Navy, my role would be as a legal advisor to the department. The Vieques issue has, of course, significant legal dimensions, but it's fundamentally a policy issue centering on the readiness and training of the military. I would, of course, advise the secretary and other members of the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps on the legal issues when they arise, and then beyond that, I would cooperate with the secretary with whatever additional tasks or requests for information or support he might care to give me. LEVIN: Thank you. Mine time is up. Senator Warner? WARNER: Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I'll follow on with Mr. Navas with your line of questions relative to Vieques. First, an observation. In the response you made to the chairman's questions, you sort of indicated that Puerto Rico has suffered. That may well be the case, because of its difference and the way it's treated as a territory versus a state. But the record should reflect the people of Puerto Rico have never, never voted to express their desire to become a state. Am I not correct on that? NAVAS: Senator Warner, the issue is that we have never had a congressionally sanctioned referendum, which defines very clearly what are the options to the issue of Puerto Rico. Actually, there's a letter dated 1996 by the four committees that had to deal with Puerto Rico in the House of Representatives, and it ends saying that the question of Puerto Rico's political status remains open and unresolved. What we have had historically are referenda that have been done locally, and it's not binding by the U.S. Congress. And, as such, the Congress of the United States, who basically has the authority over Puerto Rico in the territorial clause of the Constitution, has never put some options there, binding options, for the people of Puerto Rico. That was attempted last year in the 106th Congress with the Young bill, but that did not progress. WARNER: But in the meantime, the laws of the United States have a force and effect in Puerto Rico, and is this committee to assume that you will respect and work to support the laws of the United States as they relate to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico? NAVAS: Most definitely, sir. WARNER: Thank you very much. I think you have a distinguished career, and it may well be that your knowledge in depth of the issues could be of help to the Department of the Navy and, indeed, the Secretary of Defense as this critical issue evolves. NAVAS: Sir, I hope I could be of help. WARNER: I hope that you give your objective viewpoints to the secretary of the Navy and defense. NAVAS: Yes, sir. REED: Thank you very much. Mr. Mora and Mr. Morello, you will be the general counsels of the Army and the Navy. Besides making a bet on the Army-Navy football game, you will have lots of other interesting things to do, one of which is an ongoing concern about environmental issues affecting both the Army and the Navy. This, I believe, will be amplified by the Vieques situation, because I think whatever resolution comes about in Vieques, there will be additional pressure on training areas throughout the Army and Navy by local community groups. My general question is what is your position at this point about environmental laws and, specifically, a broadened appreciation of the interaction between local communities and military facilities? Mr. Morello? MORELLO: Thank you, Senator. In my preparation for these hearings, I was heartened to learn that the Army general counsel's office does, indeed, have a number of attorneys who just specialize in environmental issues. And I think that demonstrates, to me, at least, the seriousness which the secretary of the Army places upon environmental issues. Local concern is always an important part of the input that would be taken with regard to an appropriate environmental plan of action regarding any kind of training or other base activity. So, if confirmed, I would continue that sensitivity, realizing, based upon some of my experiences in private practice, that it is very important, especially to the people who live anywhere around situations or areas that might be impacted, to make sure that we do the best we can and be good environmental citizens. REED: Thank you. Mr. Mora? MORA: Thank you, Senator. In the week of briefings I've had at the general counsel's office, Senator, I would say that the preponderance of the issues have touched upon environmental matters in one way or another. It is clear that preoccupation with environmental law and compliance is one of the principal preoccupations of the Navy. In fact, from what I've seen, I'm not aware that there is almost any Navy operation or activity that does not have some sort of environmental consideration which the Navy takes into account. Obviously, the Navy will obey the environmental laws and wishes to be a good neighbor to all the communities in which it is a member. By the same token, it is clear that environmental restrictions, which seem to be growing, provide an ever growing restriction to training and readiness in the Navy. These will be difficult questions that will have to be balanced, Senator, but we can promise our full attention to these issues. REED: Thank you, Mr. Mora. LEVIN: Senator Reed, thank you. Senator Inhofe? INHOFE: Mr. Chairman, are we going to have another round after this? LEVIN: We'll have as many rounds as we need. INHOFE: OK, fine. Thank you. To follow up a little bit, let's go back to the answer that you gave, Mr. Navas, concerning your background. This group that you are the chairman of has the word, self-determination, in it. Specifically, what is the name of the group? NAVAS: Sir, the group is a committee. It's ... INHOFE: What is it called? That's what I'm asking you. NAVAS: American Veterans for Puerto Rico's Self-Determination. INHOFE: OK. And you implied in the answer to Senator Warner's question that while there have been several referenda, there have not been any that had restricted options. I would assume that you would support a referendum that had statehood or independence. Is this accurate? NAVAS: Sir, at the end of the day, the two pure options for sovereignty or self-determination for Puerto Rico would be either a state of the Union under the Constitution of the United States or an independent republic -- basically two options. There might be -- I don't know -- there might be a third option. I have not studied that, because every time you look at an option, it always remains as a concession option. It's an option that could go beyond the two options. So the ultimate two self-determination would be those two, yes, sir. INHOFE: Do you think that's what your governor would like to see? NAVAS: Sir, I cannot speak for the governor. I have not been an official resident of Puerto Rico for the last six years. INHOFE: Since you support self-determination, would you support self-determination for the citizens of Vieques, as is called for in the referendum in the coming November? NAVAS: Sir, there's a law on the books based on a referendum for a very specific issue, and as long as that's a law, I think we would support it. Of course, I am aware that there's a thrust to try to get relief from that law, and I'm not, at this point, in a capacity to comment one way or another. LEVIN: Or is that a pelican? I can't see what that is. It's a flamingo. Thank you all. Congratulations, and we hope to bring these to the floor as soon as we have a committee to vote on them.
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