News
|
|
|
Wednesday February 04, 2004
|
John Klomp |
Pueblo County Commission John Klomp said Tuesday he's optimistic that most of the funding for the chemical demilitarization program in Pueblo will be restored to the fiscal 2005 federal budget.
Speaking from a cab in Washington, D.C., on his way to the airport to fly home, Klomp said an assistant secretary of defense assured him that the Pueblo work would continue "in a timely manner."
The 2005 budget, submitted to Congress on Monday by President Bush, stripped $147 million from the Army's $151 million funding request for the Pueblo Chemical Depot to destroy shells and cannisters containing mustard agent.
Many other weapons destruction programs received increases, and a project similar to Pueblo's at the Bluegrass Army Depot in Kentucky was left intact.
Klomp, who was in Washington in his role as chairman of the Citizens Advisory Commission, said that puzzled him, too.
Asked if he thought the Pentagon believed it would be more difficult to cut funding for Kentucky than Colorado, Klomp said he's heard that but doubted that was the case.
Referring to Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Klomp said, "As strong as Sen. Allard has been with the program, I don't think he would let that happen."
He also said Pueblo should expect a political battle to get the funding restored. "It's now in the hands of the politicians, and there is an opportunity for us to work with our congressional delegation to try to get them to secure the funding by reprioritizing funding for other demilitarization sites."
He said he received assurances of support from Dale Klein, assistant secretary of defense on nuclear and chemical and biological defense programs.
Behind the scenes, officials involved with the Pueblo program have been asked by the Pentagon to come up with alternative ideas for how the project here would be carried out.
That gave Klomp some hope that some of the funds could be restored if the Pueblo project were scaled down slightly. A recommendation on the alternative plans is expected by Feb. 15.
"I don't think it's necessary that all of the $147 million gets reinstated but a significant amount has to be reinstated to get the infrastructure started," Klomp said.
The Pueblo plant will use a water-based method to chemically break down the mustard agent.
The project will be a major boost for Pueblo's economy with as many as 1,200 construction jobs and another 800 workers involved in the weapons destruction project over about 10 years.