Democrats Expected to Push for Faster CW Disposal

Democrats are expected to press for faster disposal of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile when they take over leadership of the House Armed Services Committee in January, Defense Environment Alert reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 10).

There will be “a renewed commitment to (completing it) sooner rather than later,” a Democratic source on the committee said.  “I don’t think chemical weapons destruction is a partisan issue, but the pace is a concern.”

The committee is also set to “renew our commitment internationally to Russia” and to “expand (demilitarization efforts) into new areas” such as assisting other chemical weapons-holding dates with disposal, the source said.

The United States has requested a five-year extension of the April 2007 deadline under the Chemical Weapons Convention to completely eliminate its stockpile.  Work here, however, is not expected to be finished before 2017.  Russia is also seeking an extension to 2012.

The anticipated selection of Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as the new Senate minority leader should also promote weapons disposal efforts, one environmentalist told Defense Environment Alert.  McConnell has been a strong proponent of the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternative program, which would build chemical weapons neutralization facilities in Colorado and Kentucky.  Funding for those sites has been tenuous in recent years, and was frozen at one point due to unexpectedly costly construction estimates.

The program should be “somewhat protected” from funding reductions under McConnell’s leadership, the source said (Defense Environment Alert, Nov. 14).

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