STATEMENT OF HON. SAXBY CHAMBLISS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF GEORGIA

Thank you Chairman Saxton and Members of the Committee for holding this hearing today. I am pleased to have the opportunity to join my colleague Representative Duke Cunningham and thank him for introducing the bill, H.R. 2760 The Disabled Sportsmen's Access Act. As an original co-sponsor of the legislation and the vice chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, I strongly support this bill. Mr. Chairman, as a member of the House National Security Committee along with you, I am pleased that we included the Disabled Sportsmen's Access Act in last week's fiscal year 1999 Department of Defense Authorization Bill.

All my life I have enjoyed hunting and fishing. Fortunately, my son and I have the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors together-whether it's quail hunting in south Georgia, pheasant hunting together in the midwest or fishing in one of our favorite ponds scattered across our state. Indeed, these times are priceless for a father and

son.

This legislation ensures that every father and son, even if they are disabled will have the same opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors in a way that is so satisfying. As Mr. Cunningham has said, this legislation expands opportunities for sportsmen with disabilities to hunt and fish on Department of Defense facilities. This bill will also allow the Department to work with private organizations to construct facilities and operate programs specifically for sportsmen with disabilities.

Based on the disabled hunting and fishing program run at nearby Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, this legislation is a common-sense way to provide opportunities for these activities to individuals across America.

While I do not want to restate any of the details of the legislation that my colleague Mr. Cunningham has just presented, I do want to share with you the fact that this legislation has broad support from veterans groups, organizations representing the disabled and from a litany of outdoors and hunting and fishing groups.

Again, I thank you Mr. Chairman for holding this hearing today. It is a non-partisan issue that ensures we provide opportunities to those who too often do not have the chance to participate in hunting and fishing activities. Mr. Chairman, it is my hope that this hearing today by your Subcommittee is an indicator that the House Resources Committee will take prompt action on favorably passing this bill. I commend my colleague Mr. Cunningham and look forward to hearing the testimony of other panelists today.

Mr. SAXTON. Thank you very much. And let me just say that this bill is moving on two tracks, and the reason that it is moving on two tracks is because you three have been such great proponents for it. And we appreciate that, and I am sure that either through the free-standing bill that we are dealing with today or through the Defense Authorization bill, that within a few months, this will become a law. And it's because of your great work that we are in the position that we are, so thank you very much for your great effort. Mr. CUNNINGHAM. And the service chiefs-I have talked to all of them-support this, too.

Mr. SAXTON. Very good. Thank you very much. We will break now for our vote. When we get back, we will proceed with panel No. 2, Sherri Goodman, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, and Lietenant Colonel Lewis Deal, Executive Officer, Weapons Training Battalion, from Quantico. We appreciate you being with us as well, so while we are gone, you can get yourselves set up there.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is here and some of us have been invited to meet with him at 11 o'clock, so hopefully, we will be able to conclude this so that we don't have to take a break for that and then come back. So I will rush over and be back within 5 or 10 minutes. Thank you very much.

[Recess.]

Mr. SAXTON. I apologize for that. And I wouldn't be surprised if there will be some more votes here in the next half hour or so, but we will persevere.

Sherri Goodman and Col. Deal, welcome aboard. We are anxious to hear your testimonies, so you may proceed.

STATEMENT OF SHERRI W. GOODMAN, DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Ms. GOODMAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It is a pleasure to be here today to testify on behalf of the Department of Defense. I am very pleased to report to you that we have worked with Congressman Cunningham's staff to make some minor, but necessary, revisions to the bill as introduced, and I am now pleased to convey to you the Department's full support for this Disabled Sportsmen's Access Act.

I am also very pleased to have with me on this panel, Lieutenant Colonel Deal, whose enthusiastic support for the cause of the disabled sportsmen has made this bill possible. Col. Deal has personally been responsible for the success of the Disabled Sportsmen's Program at Marine Corps Base, Quantico.

As you know, Mr. Chairman, we manage about 25 million acres of land across the United States, which makes the Department of Defense the third largest land management department in the country. Our lands are managed first and foremost to provide for the training and testing necessary to maintain and enhance military readiness. DOD lands support the testing of new weapons systems, munitions, deployment of weapons systems, and combat training exercises.

Our lands are also rich in various natural resources and we have an obligation to protect these resources for future generations. We take pride in our stewardship program and we have policies in place to conserve our natural and nd cultural resources for future gen

erations.

Although our primary conservation focus is mission support, DOD manages its lands for multiple uses, including outdoor recreation, such as hunting, fishing, commercial forestry and agriculture programs, and threatened and endangered species management.

A major component of our conservation program at many DOD installations is its natural resources-based outdoor recreation program. By offering the opportunity to hunt, fish, hike, bird watch, and engage in other outdoor activities, our conservation managers enhance the quality of life for our installation residents and those who reside in the vicinity of our installation. We've offered these programs for many years and have made them available whenever military needs and sound management practices allow.

Concerning access for disabled sportsmen, we are subject to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Furthermore, many bases have integrated special outdoor recreation programs for the disabled into their natural resources programs.

They have also constructed special facilities to encourage hunting, fishing and other outdoor uses of our natural resources by disabled persons. But there is no doubt that indeed we can do more, and that's why we support the legislation today.

I'd like to give you just a few examples of where our installations are already providing access, and then I'd like to ask Lieutenant Colonel Deal to tell his own special story about Quantico.

I am going to proceed very quickly here, Mr. Chairman. We have programs at Eglin Air Force Base that have provided special opportunities. At Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, there is a fishing pier designed specifically for persons with disabilities. This design was provided to Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, in 1996, and it became the prototype for Robins' handicapped angler access pier construction program.

At the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida, handicapped access is taken into consideration in the construction of nature trails, as well.

These examples testify to the Department's commitment to make outdoor recreational opportunities more available to members of the disabled community. Some of our installations, such as Quantico, have developed particularly innovative programs that could well serve as models for disabled sportsmen's access anywhere, and indeed, I hope they will.

With this legislation to spur our efforts and the many successful installation programs that we have already as models, we look forward to providing the disabled even greater access to the rich and varied outdoor recreational opportunities our military lands have to offer.

And I would just like to say, Mr. Chairman, that I had an opportunity to converse with some of the witnesses on the next panel, and I have learned much from them. I think that they and the organizations they represent can be integral parts of our teamwork effort as we move forward to provide greater access for disabled sportsmen.

I would now like to have Lieutenant Colonel Deal tell his own story about his unique effort to make Quantico more accessible to disabled sportsmen and to help others across the country. Colonel Deal.

[The prepared statement of Ms. Goodman may be found at end of hearing.]

Mr. SAXTON. Thank you very much. Col. Deal.

STATEMENT OF LIEUTENANT COLONEL A. LEWIS DEAL, EXECUTIVE OFFICER, WEAPONS TRAINING BATTALION, QUANTICO MARINE CORPS BASE

Colonel DEAL. Good morning, sir. I will follow the lead of my fellow naval aviator, Congressman Cunningham, and keep my remarks brief, too.

I would like to begin by acknowledging the decisive leadership and actions of Congressman Cunningham and his fellow members who have come to the aid of all disabled sportsmen. I would like also to thank all of those who have come here today to testify, especially Kirk Thomas of the Wheeling Sportsmen of America for his time and expense to travel all the way from the great state of Alabama.

My experiences at Quantico working to initiate programs and building facilities for our disabled veterans have been challenging, deeply rewarding, and a heck of a lot of fun. We've had some unique experiences that could be classified as almost comical. I am proud to say that our programs are a success and are now open to all sportsmen, not just disabled veterans.

However, our disabled veterans still have first priority during hunting season. We are now in the final stages of planning a wheelchair accessible fishing pier. This has been a 3-year effort in which we have been working closely with Paralyzed Veterans of America. I'd like to add that from day one the Paralyzed Veterans of America, especially Bruce Scott, have been our closest ally and we couldn't have gotten this far without their help.

This fishing facility is extremely important, not just for the disabled veteran, but for the disabled dependent children aboard Quantico. For those children who will never have a chance to play football or take dancing lessons, no price tag can be put upon having the opportunity to safely go fishing with their families, especially in light of the fact that fishing is the No. 1 requested outdoor activity for disabled sportsmen.

What I would really like to say is the following: This journey, this endeavor that we have begun, does not have a road map or a blueprint. This has never been done before. We have to design and build our own course, our own roadway to the future.

It is paramount that we build a solid team, just like we did down at Quantico. There can be no hidden or selfish personal agendas. We must realize the biggest obstacle to our success is the misinformed attitudes of our fellow Americans toward disabled sports

men.

No nation in the world is attempting to do what we are doing, returning the disabled sportsman to the great outdoors. This is Americans helping Americans in its purest form. Our success at Quantico is just one small step on this journey.

I am excited about the future. I am excited about what the future will bring. And as we say in the Marine Corps, I am eager to step off smartly.

Thank you, sir. Are there any questions?

[The prepared statement of Colonel Deal may be found at end of hearing.]

Mr. SAXTON. Thank you. The only question that I have for either of you is obviously, when we change the processes in various ways in the military, there are oftentimes what I call the necessity to work around. Is there any work around that we have to be aware of? Are there any disadvantages, I guess is what I'm saying, in an operational sense, or anything along those lines that we need to be aware of?

Colonel DEAL. From Quantico, no. We just try to piggyback on existing programs.

Mr. SAXTON. Access to bases, anything like that?

Ms. GOODMAN. Mr. Chairman, I wouldn't anticipate that this will actually change the accessibility of bases. Many of our bases around the country are open to the public for hunting and fishing today, and where they are, we want to make them more accessible to the disabled. And to those that are available only to the military there, we also want to make those available accessible to the disabled who may reside on that base.

Mr. SAXTON. In other words, if the veteran community has access to a base, then this wouldn't change anything.

Ms. GOODMAN. Right. This wouldn't change the basic access, but this will enable us to have the support and the help, the wherewithal, and the ingenuity of the many organizations represented by your next panel of witnesses to help us design programs, design opportunities in hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities that are right for the disabled.

Mr. SAXTON. Very good. Well, as I said earlier, this subject, this bill, this language is moving forward on two tracks, and we are going to try to keep it doing so. So thank you very much, both of you, for being with us to share your thoughts and experiences. We appreciate it very much, and we're going to move on to the next panel. Thank you.

Panel three is composed of Lieutenant Colonel Larry Gerlach of the U.S. Marine Corps, Retired, whose home is in Fairfax, Virginia; Mr. Harley Thomas, Associate Legislative Director of the Paralyzed Veterans of America, who is accompanied by Mr. Bruce Scott, Director of Outdoor Activities, Paralyzed Veterans of America. Also, Mr. Kirk Thomas, President, the Wheelin' Sportsmen of America, and Mr. Jack Fasciana, a handicapped hunter from the Safari Club, which organization is in town today, by the way. I had the opportunity to have breakfast with them, as a matter of fact. And he is accompanied by his father, John Fasciana. The father, John Fasciana, of Bedford Hills, New York.

Welcome aboard, and Mr. Gerlach, if you are ready, why don't you just proceed.

STATEMENT OF H. LARRY GERLACH, LIEUTENANT COLONEL, USMC, RETIRED

Colonel GERLACH. Thank you, Chairman Saxton, for inviting me today to testify on the Disabled Sportsmen's Access Act. I come before this Subcommittee as a veteran with a spinal cord injury who has been able to enjoy the outdoors and hunt deer and turkey at Quantico as a result of their great sportsmen accessibility program.

The Quantico program, I believe, should be used as a model for H.R. 2760. It can't be exactly replicated at every base, but I think it could be used as a guide and adapted to the local communities around the base. I'd like to thank the Subcommittee for taking the time to consider the bill, and I thank Representatives Cunningham and Tanner for sponsoring it.

As a sportsman who loves fishing and hunting or just to be afield or afloat, I have a vested interest in the Act and the program. Although I wouldn't presume to speak for all the disabled, veterans or not, I know a large number of them would benefit from the bill and it would add to their quality of life.

The inclusion of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in a consultation role, along with the national service, military and veterans organizations, I believe is significant and adds much to the bill. The Department of Veterans Affairs is a main provider of services to disabled veterans and is the recognized leader in service to the spinal cord injured.

I know from the time I spent in the hospital, the better part of 1984, that having his program would have been a welcome dimen