for immediate release: Monday,
September 19, 2005
DOD REPORT: FUNDS FLOWING
TO KY & CO CHEM WEAPONS DISPOSAL PROJECTS
The Department of Defense (DOD) has submitted an update to Congress on funding
for chemical weapons disposal efforts at the Blue Grass, Kentucky and Pueblo,
Colorado Army depots, which confirms that money is once again flowing to projects
at both sites.
The report, mandated by a provision in the FY 2005 Supplemental Appropriations
Act, introduced by KY Senator Mitch McConnell and backed by CO Senator Wayne
Allard, confirms that as of July 31, 2005, $21 million in funding (previously
withheld by the DOD) has been formally obligated for the two Assembled Chemical
Weapons Alternatives (ACWA) facilities. Of that amount $1 million is
earmarked for Blue Grass, $4 million for ACWA programmatic support and $16
million for Pueblo.
In addition, the report states that in August, 2005 DOD obligated an additional
$7.5 million for Blue Grass and $17 million for Pueblo. And finally,
the DOD’s update anticipates that the remaining $54 million for the ACWA facilities
will be obligated by the September deadline, as directed by the Senators’
provision.
The report is a welcome sign that the DOD has finally stopped trying to
keep money away from the ACWA sites. Last January, the DOD put both projects
on “care-taker” status and froze funding for the projects while intending
to spend the money at incineration facilities at other disposal sites. Then
in May, the Pentagon’s policy was reversed by language in the provision to
the Supplemental Spending Bill authored and introduced by Senator McConnell.
The provision prohibited money budgeted for the two ACWA sites from being
spent elsewhere and directed that $100 million be obligated by the middle
of September 2005. DOD’s recent update comes as good news to residents in
KY and CO who have witnessed the funding battle between the Pentagon and Senators
McConnell, Allard and other Legislators over this past year.
Craig Williams, Director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group, said of
the DOD’s update, “It looks like the DOD has finally gotten the message that
weapons destruction must go forward in Kentucky and Colorado. We all
recognize and appreciate Sen. McConnell’s dogged efforts - they are now translating
into tangible results for us here in Kentucky and for our friends in Colorado.”
Sen. McConnell is pleased that the report indicates DOD is complying with
the law. "I am encouraged that DOD appears to be complying with the provision
I drafted. That is why I included the regular reporting requirement - so I
could watch the Department like a hawk and ensure the Department is not backsliding
on its commitment to the people of central Kentucky," he said.
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