136th Year... and still on the job!	Tuesday May 17, 2005

Senate panel increases chem demil funding for depot

The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved an additional $20 million next year for the chemical demilitarization projects at the Pueblo Chemical Depot and Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky.

Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., announced on Monday that the Senate committee increased the chem demil project money to $53 million next year, up from the $20 million increase that was originally planned.

"The funding will be used to accelerate the destruction of chemical weapons at the Pueblo depot and at Blue Grass," Allard said Monday. "It will keep the program on track and moving forward."

The Senate committee is in the process of earmarking $441 billion in defense spending for next year.

Earlier this month, both the House and Senate approved an $82 billion supplemental budget bill, which requires that the Pentagon spend $100 million on the Pueblo and Blue Grass projects within the next four months. That money previously was appropriated for the depot projects, but the Defense Department diverted most of that money to other programs last year.

Allard, as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, put language in the supplemental bill requiring the Pentagon to spend that $100 million on the two depot projects within the next four months.