{"id":"01KG0GVSEHM2BZA1R8QTZ04289","cid":"bafkreib6fkltud4kjgxxj47r5pqn52omvvvzlmjplg23pxdaopzatkn4dm","type":"segment","properties":{"description":"# Policy Announcement\n\n## Overview\nThis entity is a text segment labeled \"Policy Announcement,\" extracted from lines 274 to 306 of a source document. It contains a formal statement addressing the future of U.S. Navy training operations on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. The text outlines a proposed plan to resolve longstanding tensions over military use of the island, including provisions for a local referendum, restrictions on training activities, and commitments to address environmental, economic, and public health concerns. The segment was extracted on January 27, 2026, by an automated system and later manually edited.\n\n## Context\nThe segment is part of the [More Classics](arke:01KFXT0KM64XT6K8W52TDEE0YS) collection, a curated set of documents managed by user \"Nick\" (arke:01KESY9D0GB2CTGJMF5B7NCCTF). While the collection includes various public domain texts, this segment appears to be a modern policy statement, likely from a U.S. presidential address or official transcript, referencing figures such as Governor Rosello and Resident Commissioner Romero-Barceló, and calling for action by Defense Secretary Cohen—consistent with late 1990s or early 2000s U.S.-Puerto Rico relations.\n\n## Contents\nThe announcement declares that a vote will be held on Vieques by March 1, 2002, allowing residents to decide whether Navy training—including live fire—will cease by May 1, 2003, or continue under U.S. Navy terms. In the interim, training will resume in March but be limited to inert ordnance and reduced from 182 to 90 days annually. The speaker acknowledges past failures in addressing local concerns and commits to remedial measures, including infrastructure development, economic support for fishermen, environmental preservation, job training, and a Public Health Service study. A working group will oversee implementation, and Congress is urged to transfer land ownership of the western quarter of Vieques to Puerto Rico. The plan aims to balance military readiness with the well-being and self-determination of the Vieques community.","description_generated_at":"2026-01-27T20:04:51.813Z","description_model":"Qwen/Qwen3-235B-A22B-Instruct-2507","description_title":"Policy Announcement","end_line":306,"extracted_at":"2026-01-27T20:03:33.676Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Policy Announcement","source_file":"01KG0GTCBVMYE4TTDCV9ZPXFTA","start_line":274,"text":"Since 1941, every action that our Atlantic fleet has been involved in started with Vieques training. It's no accident that our nation lost no pilots in Kosovo. The training they received helped save lives. The reason this is such a difficult issue is because right now, some of this training can only be done on Vieques. There is no comparable alternative.\n\nAt the request of Governor Rosello and Resident Commissioner Romero-Barcello, last year I asked Defense Secretary Cohen to convene a panel and come up with recommendations for the future of Vieques. That panel found that we have not always been good neighbors on Vieques and recommended that we work toward replacing the island as a training site.\n\nOne voice that has not been heard from completely in this process are the people most directly affected by this decision – the people of Vieques itself. That changes right now.\n\nToday, I am announcing a course of action that will resolve the impasse over Vieques. This course of action will not come from the top-down, but from the bottom-up. Ultimately, it will be for you to decide for yourselves the course of action to take.\n\nBy the first day of March in 2002, Vieques will hold a vote. In that vote, you will be presented with one of two alternatives. If you choose one alternative, the Navy will cease all training on Vieques by May 1, 2003. If you choose the other, training will continue on Vieques, including\n\n> → must ensure our service is not met\n> → just very best training possible\n> → south like - here we no alternative. Sikes that give training comparable to Vieques\n> → this is the path to only give right to people of Vieques, or right to determine while in the interior we are\n\n\n2\n\nlive fire training, on terms proposed by the United States Navy. It has not been determined yet what day this vote will occur – but when it is, the people of Vieques will have at least three months to debate the question before voting.\n\nIn the meantime, we are taking several other steps.\n\nFirst, Navy training on Vieques will resume in March.\n\nSecond, I am ordering that the training done on Vieques in the period leading up to the vote will be limited to only inert ordnance – no live fire.\n\nThird, while the Navy and Marine Corps will resume training on Vieques, I have cut in half the amount of time they will spend training. Two years ago, our troops trained for 182 days on Vieques. This year, they will be authorized for 90 days, which is what we need to meet our essential training needs.\n\nFourth, to meet past wrongs, we will address the economic, health, safety, and environmental concerns that we should have been addressing all along. Measures we will implement include, among other things, development of a new commercial ferry pier and terminal, an artificial reef to create new commercial fishing areas, temporary compensation for fisherman, expanding and improving roads, a bioluminescent bay preservation program, a job training program for young people, providing land to extend the airport runway, and a Public Health Service Study. To ensure these measures are taken – and that the missed opportunities of our 1983 agreement are not repeated – I will ask the Pentagon to establish a working group that will work with Vieques on all questions relating to the use of the range and coordination of these issues.\n\nFifth, I will also ask Congress to begin transferring title to land on the western quarter of the island to Puerto Rico.\n\nThis plan will help resolve the impasse over Vieques. While it will ultimately meet Puerto Rico’s needs – whatever the will of the people eventually decide -- I recognize it will not do so as immediately as some in the islands might have wished. But I believe this is a fair solution that will provide the training necessary to ensure satisfactory Navy and Marine Corps combat readiness while also ensuring the safety and well-being of the people of Vieques.","title":"Policy Announcement"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KFXT0KM64XT6K8W52TDEE0YS","peer_label":"More Classics","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-27T20:03:34.076Z","ts":"2026-01-27T20:04:52.319Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF5C36SQEVDHC9CBNZZJH9K"}}