FACT: Our Congressional Leaders Are Unable or Unwilling to Close Red Hill.

News Release from McDermott for Senate, Jan 31, 2022

Our unified congressional delegation cannot get the job done as evidenced by the Navy’s decision to appeal the recent defueling order, as weak as that was. We need to send a Republican to DC who has credibility in military matters to make the case for Hawaii. If this old Marine cannot close Red Hill as a US Senator, I will not run for reelection - period.

I have advocated for an absolute Decommissioning of Red Hill within 12 months, a closure ASAP. Defueling is not a complete shutdown or decommissioning. It is simply a mechanism to fix “safety deficiencies and buy time to keep the fuel tanks in Red Hill (still over the aquifer). All our elected officials are hiding behind this State of Hawaii defueling order, particularly those who have direct authority and responsibility for Federal Matters, our Congressional delegation.

The Navy has been “going along” with this effort as they do with most State requests to be a “good neighbor.”  But legally, they are not required to follow State Statutes regarding Red Hill. This Shibai is being facilitated by compliant politicians that will not state the facts that the Majority Party (Democrats) control the fate of Red Hill; last time I checked The President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of the Navy all can shut down Red Hill, they won’t. This is what the unified team of Democrats gives us.

In fact, they have refused to even honor the Congressional delegation’s request for an “Emergency Order” to provide funding. The Congressional delegation has proved ineffective in dealing with this environmental disaster. It is time to send a Hawaii leader with credibility in military circles, one who is bold and will not sell out his people by being quiet at the behest of his party leaders.

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