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Congress Approves Funding for Pueblo, Blue Grass
The U.S. Congress this week approved $51 million for work on planned chemical weapons disposal facilities at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky and the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado, the Pueblo Chieftain reported today (see GSN, Dec. 9). President George W. Bush still must sign the $453.3 billion fiscal 2006 defense appropriations bill that includes the money. The $51 million would be available for research, design and construction work related to planned weapons neutralization facilities, according to the Chieftain. Language in the appropriations bill will allow for more flexibility in how the money is used, according to Senator Wayne Allard (R-Colo.). “Bureaucratic impediments cannot be allowed to interfere with this project,” he said (John Norton, Pueblo Chieftain, Dec. 23). Lawmakers from Kentucky and Colorado beat back efforts to move oversight of the planned neutralization sites in their states from the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives to the U.S. Army office that manages weapons incineration, according to the Chemical Weapons Working Group. The transfer had been proposed in an amendment to the fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill, according to the organization. “I am disappointed that some members in the House sought this misguided change,” Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a CWWG press release. “Fortunately, those of us who know and understand this program were able to defeat the measure before it became law which helps ensure that cleanup efforts continue to proceed safely and efficiently with full community involvement” (Chemical Weapons Working Group release, Dec. 22).
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