FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 15, 2001

SCHUMER CALLS BUSH VIEQUES PLAN "UNACCEPTABLE"

Senator reacts to Administration announcement, insists end to bombing must come immediately, not in 2003

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today issued the following statement in reaction to the Bush administration's decision to halt Navy bombing exercises on the island of Vieques by May 2003:

"While I am glad to see that the Bush administration is finally beginning to see the need for an end to the bombing in Vieques, this decision isn't good enough. The bombing needs to end now - not two years from now.

" The people of Vieques have endured more than their fair share of sacrifice for the cause of US military readiness Vieques can no longer be used for Navy target practice at the expense of the health and economic well-being of thousands of American citizens.

"I have been calling for an end to these military exercises for quite some time now. I have written to President Bush and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and worked with many of my fellow elected officials from New York. We are not looking for a compromise. The military is playing Russian Roulette with American lives. The bombing must end now."

# # #