Local
Posted on Fri, Oct 26, 2007
Earlier weapons destruction deadline urged
KY. CONGRESSMEN SEND LETTER
By Ashlee Clark
ACLARK@HERALD-LEADER.COM
A bipartisan group of legislators has written a letter to support an earlier deadline for the destruction of chemical weapons at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Madison County.
Kentucky Democratic Reps. Ben Chandler and John Yarmuth, and Republican Reps. Geoff Davis, Harold Rogers, Ron Lewis and Ed Whitfield sent the letter Oct. 19 to Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., House Armed Services Committee chairman, and Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., a ranking committee member.
The letter asks them to support an amendment to the 2008 Defense Authorization Bill written by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., that would set a Dec. 31, 2017, deadline to destroy chemical weapons at the Blue Grass Army Depot and the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado.
The Pentagon released in November 2006 a budget projection that would extend the disposal dates in Kentucky and Colorado to 2023 and 2020, respectively.
According to the letter, there are 523 tons of nerve and blister agent at the Blue Grass depot and 2,611 tons of mustard agent at the Pueblo depot.
"The Senate version of the FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill includes the 2017 deadline, which is absolutely essential for the safe disposal of dangerous chemical weapons on American soil," the letter states. It also was signed by Colorado Reps. John Salazar, Mark Udall and Diana DeGette, Democrats, and Marilyn Musgrave, a Republican.