138th Year... and still on the job!	Tuesday February 7, 2006

Colorado lawmakers find good and bad in Bush budget

By PETER ROPER
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

President Bush's proposed 2007 budget drew some praise from Colorado's U.S. senators on Monday, but was also sharply criticized for proposed cuts in farm and conservation programs.

Both Sens. Wayne Allard, a Republican, and Ken Salazar, a Democrat, credited the White House budget for including funds for cleaning up old mustard agent weapons at the Pueblo Chemical Depot.

Allard also endorsed the president's plan to increase the research budgets for solar, renewal and biomass energy, saying the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden would benefit from those increases. He said the Department of Energy also would be shifting funds to NREL.

"What the Department of Energy is trying to do is reinforce the lab's research and development capability," Allard said.

Salazar saw the budget differently, noting that it calls for a 6 percent cut in operating funds for the Golden lab. Salazar said lawmakers would work to restore any cuts in the laboratory budget.

Allard also praised the administration for including $52 million to begin a new veterans hospital at the Fitzsimmons medical campus in Aurora. He said the hospital will cost a total of $539 million to complete and equip.

Salazar, for his part, criticized the White House budget for proposing another $1 billion in cuts to farm programs, a $220 million cut in conservation programs and a nearly $400 million cut in agricultural research programs.

In addition, the administration proposes less money for the federal Community Development Block Grant program, as well as for Payment in Lieu of Taxes - where the federal government provides money to local governments for federally owned land.

"I am concerned about the devastating cuts to agriculture programs, the PILT program and the CDBG program because these cuts will hit Colorado and rural states especially hard," he said.