Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all for being here. My name is Craig Williams. I am the director and national spokesperson for the Chemical Weapons Working Group, an international coalition of citizens groups working for the safe disposal of chemical weapons. This past weekend Chemical Weapons Working Group delegates from across the country and Russia were privileged to be in Anniston for our annual conference.

Today is Veterans Day. I am proud to say I am a Vietnam Veteran who served in defense of our country against the threats of that time.

Today we face a different kind of threat--the risk of having more than 24,000 tons of nerve and mustard agents stockpiled in communities across our nation. In the wake of the immense human tragedy of September 11th, there has been widespread media attention focused on the unacceptable threat posed by these lethal chemicals. The elimination of the risk of all chemical warfare agents in a safe and expeditious manner must be our common objective.

It is with the goal of eliminating this risk, that the Chemical Weapons Working Group proposes the following. Today we call on the President and the US Congress to immediately create a Task Force charged with developing a national plan to eliminate the risk of chemical warfare agents more expeditiously than the Army's current incineration approach while ensuring maximum protection. The Task Force would be composed of representatives of the military and environmental agencies, public health officials, representatives of the Governors from each affected state and citizens from the host communities and would be required to complete the plan within 60 days.

The Chemical Weapons Working Group would offer the following three-step solution to the Task Force for consideration as a viable and timely remedy. The first step of our solution is the disassembly or taking apart of the chemical munitions. The second step is neutralization of all nerve and mustard agents. And the final step is restorage or treatment of the neutralized materials.

The basis for our recommendation comes from findings produced by Army engineering studies, a Secretary of Defense contingency plan, National Academy of Sciences reports, and recent successful research and demonstration programs.

As far back as 1985, engineering studies identified methods of weapons disassembly, with great advances having been made in this procedure over the last five years. The Secretary of Defense, at the direction of Congress submitted a Contingency Plan for implementing this procedure in 1991 should the threat of these dangerous weapons become intolerable. In 1993 the National Academy of Sciences endorsed a strategy of weapons disassembly and neutralization. Their strategy concluded that, "International treaty obligations would be met and the risk from continued agent storage eliminated." (Emphasis added.) Current science has supported and improved upon the Academy's 1993 approach resulting in faster capabilities.

Scientific evidence proves that our approach is viable, that it is safe and that it will significantly reduce the time these warfare agents will pose a threat to our country.

Just yesterday a senior government official agreed that using our three-step solution the total elimination of the risk of these agents could be achieved within 4 to 5 years. The Pentagon's latest schedule shows that incineration could take up to 16 years.

On Saturday the Chemical Weapons Working Group recognized its 10th anniversary. Following the Army's incineration approach to disposal, the threat of these weapons will still exist on our 25th anniversary. This is unacceptable. Our approach is quicker and safer. It will protect the public health while eliminating the threat these deadly agents pose.