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Additionally, $50 million will be provided to for infrastructure and housing in the land the Navy will transfer to local ownership on the western side of the island. live 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. In the meantime, we are taking several other steps. First, Navy training on Vieques will resume in March. Second, 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 and to 90 days a year – half of the 1998 pool. Third, 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. Fourth, 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. Fifth, I will also ask Congress to begin transferring title to land on the western quarter of the island to Puerto Rico. This 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. To make this solution work, I need your help. I hope I can count on the people of Vieques to participate when the vote occurs. I also hope I can count on your cooperation to implement the measure I have outlined to allow the training of our troops to continue in a responsible and much more limited manner during this period while addressing the long-time concerns of the residents of La Isla Nena (la EES-la NEN-ya). Puerto Ricans and the people of Vieques have contributed greatly to our country's security. And I very grateful for that. I hope that all of us can work together, with our Congress, to implement this plan. Thank you and God Bless You. 

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