136th Year... and
still on the job!
Tuesday February 8,
2005
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136th Year... and
still on the job!
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Tuesday February 8,
2005
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As expected, the Defense Department budget submitted to Congress on Monday slashed funding for the destruction of chemical weapons.
U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., said that the proposed budget for research, development, testing and evaluation for chemical agents and munitions destruction was cut to $47.8 million from $205.2 million last year.
Of course, even last year's spending was not close to what was budgeted because the Army has frozen all design work on the Pueblo neutralization plant and last month stopped all funding of preliminary projects.
Salazar also said that another budget item covering construction work was cut to $25 million from $42 million last year.
The Defense Department started moving against the water neutralization program in Pueblo in the 2005 budget request, cutting funding from an expected $162 million to about $5 million and then later in the year stopping much of the work aimed at designing the plant here.
Last month, all work in Pueblo was stopped, as well as at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky while the Army launched a study of alternatives, including shipping the weapons to other parts of the country where there are incinerators.
Salazar criticized the latest budget move, saying, "I am disappointed that the Department of Defense has not met with Pueblo residents. When we first heard through news reports that the funding for the depot would be eliminated, I invited the DOD to come and meet with the people they were affecting with their decision. I am ready and waiting to facilitate the meeting at any time.
"The Department of Defense would have been the largest employer in the area. Pueblo County residents have been good stewards for more than a decade, accepting the risks of deteriorating chemical weapons because of the promise of more than 1,000 new jobs.
"The work is already in progress and more than $15 million a year has been spent. A process was in place that all parties agreed to and we must finish out what was started."