Allard to shepherd bill to mandate spending

Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., one of the authors of a supplemental budget bill amendment ordering the Army to resume weapons destruction work at the Pueblo Chemical Depot, will have a chance to make sure that language stays in the bill.

Allard was named to serve as a conferee on the House-Senate Conference Committee that will iron out differences between the two versions of the bill.

The amendment, added by Allard and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., orders the Department of Defense to spend $372.38 million previously appropriated but not spent for cleaning up chemical weapons stockpiles at the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado and the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky.

It also requires the program manager of the two projects to spend or contract for $100 million worth of work at the sites in no more than 120 days.

Allard said Monday, “This appointment to the conference committee puts me in an even stronger position to ensure that the Department of Defense carries out Congress’ intention that it drop any consideration of moving the chemical weapons out of Pueblo for disposal and begin contracting for the disposal on site.”

Last week, the Pentagon released the funds for design work of a scaled-down weapons destruction plant but the senators said they were not going to change the language in the bill.

- John Norton