for immediate release: Wednesday,
April 13, 2005
MCCONNELL TAKES SENATE FLOOR
- DEMANDS IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS FOR WEAPONS DISPOSAL IN
KY & CO
In Biting Criticism, KY Senator
Accuses DoD of Flagrantly Refusing to Obey Congressional Directives and Putting
U.S. Citizens at Great Risk
On the Senate floor today, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), urging passage of
the Supplemental Appropriations Bill with a chem demil amendment that he authored,
outlined what he called the Department of Defense's "failures" in managing
chemical weapons disposal in KY and CO. In his no-nonsense statement, Sen.
McConnell accused the DoD of "unacceptable footdragging" and "schizophrenic
decision making."
In describing DoD's betrayal of U.S. citizens, Sen. McConnell said that
by forcing KY and CO people to continue to "baby-sit" these weapons while
the disposal programs are on care-taker status, the DoD is "breaking not
only their own word, they are breaking America's word. They are acknowledging
that the weapons will not be disposed of until 2016 at the earliest."
The Senator also accused the DoD of refusing to comply with Congressional
directives. "Congress has appropriated hundreds of millions of dollars for
them to safely destroy the materials. Yet they refuse to do so."
But Sen. McConnell is determined to see that DoD does comply. His language
in the amendment forces DoD to get the two sites back on track. If the Bill
passes:
- the $813.4 million in prior-year monies that
have been budgeted for KY & CO can not be transferred to other sites;
- DoD will have to obligate at least $100 million
within 120 days of enactment; and
- DoD will be required to provide Congress with
a bimonthly accounting.
In addition to his biting floor statement today, Sen. McConnell entered
into the Senate record a scathing letter he recently sent to Acting Undersecretary
of Defense Michael Wynne. In response to Wynne's directive of March 25, in
which he permitted "a limited release" of funds to KY and CO, the Senator
said that the proposal "indicates a lack of commitment to the safety of those
two communities."
He also blasted Pat Wakefield, the DoD official in charge of CW disposal,
saying his office, "has seen fit to manifestly violate this trust [with Congress],
ignore the President's budget request and withhold funds from these sites
[KY and CO].
McConnell goes on to warn Wynne, "Let me be clear: I will not be satisfied
until all of the funds budgeted and appropriated are released... The half-measure
you have put forward in your letter is unacceptable, ill-conceived and jeopardizes
the safety of the citizens living near these facilities."
Craig Williams, director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group (CWWG), said
of McConnell's efforts today, "There were no punches pulled in either his
speech or his letter to Wynne. Sen. McConnell has been relentless in his efforts
to get these weapons destroyed safely and promptly. Today's developments demonstrate
that he will not give up and we applaud his continued commitment."
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Copies of the floor speech and letter are available
from the CWWG office upon request.
