136th Year... and
still on the job!
Wednesday December 22,
2004
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136th Year... and
still on the job!
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Wednesday December 22,
2004
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Sen. Wayne Allard |
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard on Tuesday was named to the Senate Appropriations Committee by Republican leadership, a position that will allow him to control the government purse strings for favored Colorado projects.
When the 109th Congress convenes in January, Allard will take the seat of Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who is retiring.
Allard pledged to use his spot on the influential committee to “give Colorado an even stronger voice in the U.S. Senate.”
The Colorado Republican, however, was forced to give up two other committee assignments, including his favorite: the Armed Services Committee. There, he has found his voice in such major issues as the abuses of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad and the Iraq war.
In 1999, Allard was named to chair the subcommittee that oversees military personnel, giving him greater control over military pay and benefits. As chair of the Armed Services’ strategic forces subcommittee, Allard has backed President Bush's efforts to create a missile defense program. The multibillion-dollar program remains the single most expensive item in the Defense Department's budget, and critics worry the technology might never work.
“It was very difficult for me to relinquish my assignment on the Senate Armed Services, Committee,” Allard said in a statement Tuesday, “but the opportunity to become a member of one of the Senate's most powerful committees does not come along every day.”
“As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I still will be able to work on defense issues,” he added.
Campbell used his seat on the Appropriations Committee to help fund the project that he said leaves an indelible mark on his career in the Senate: the National Museum of the American Indian.
Campbell has been the only Colorado lawmaker on a congressional appropriations committee.
In 2002, Colorado ranked behind every other state and Washington, D.C., in the amount of money brought home by its lawmakers.
Campbell at the time praised Colorado's ranking as “responsible” spending in an era when members of Congress are rarely shy about bragging about how much money they have brought home.
The Appropriations Committee is responsible for preparing 13 annual spending bills that fund federal government agencies and supplemental requests made by the White House.
Allard will continue to serve on the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and the Budget Committee.
In addition to giving up his seat on the Armed Services Committee, Allard will relinquish his spot on the Environment and Public Works Committee.
“I will be working to shape the nation's spending priorities, and to ensure that Colorado's people and projects receive federal support where it is most needed,” Allard said.