Senate may vote on weapons disposal funds Monday

By Mandy Langston/Register News Writer

The U.S. Senate may vote Monday on a bill that blocks the Department of Defense from redirecting chemical weapons disposal funds from the Blue Grass Army Depot and a Pueblo, Colo. facility.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced Thursday that he authored a provision in the fiscal year 2005 supplemental appropriations bill which will impede the Department of Defense's ability to send funds formerly appropriated for the disposal of chemical weapons to other facilities.

The measure, considered a "must-pass bill" by McConnell, was accepted by the Senate Appropriations Committee and is likely to be considered Monday by the full Senate, McConnell told the Register in a conference call Thursday.

McConnell's provisions would ensure that the $813.4 million in prior-year funds budgeted for Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA) sites will not be transferred from Blue Grass and Pueblo to other sites. It also would force the Department of Defense to spend at least $100 million of the $302 million in frozen funds at the ACWA sites within four months of enactment and provide Congress with a bi-monthly accounting of the funds.

Finally, McConnell's legislation would prohibit the Department of Defense from conducting a study on the transportation of chemical weapons across state lines.

"It would be a waste of time to study something that is never going to happen," McConnell said. "They can study it until they are blue in the face. It's not going to happen. It's a waste of their time and energy to study something that is never going to occur."

None of the funds set aside to fund the destruction of the chemicals have been spent, McConnell said.

"It (the bill) reduces to virtually nil any discretion the Department of Defense has in trying to redirect funds," McConnell said. "We certainly didn't ask for their permission. We've had a lot of fights with them over the past 20 years on the subject."

The bill is expected to come to a vote late next week and then proceed to conference consideration in the House.

"Unfortunately the Department of Defense has failed to live up to its obligations to the citizens of Madison County," McConnell said in a release. "The language I authored will force the Department of Defense to get Blue Grass back on track.

"I will continue to work with the citizens of Madison County to ensure this stockpile of chemical weapons is destroyed in an expeditious and safe manner," he said. "They have my word on that."

U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler, D-6th District, applauded McConnell for amending the bill to release funds.

"This amendment is a significant victory for the citizens in Madison County who have fought for more than 20 years to see these chemical weapons destroyed in a safe and timely manner," Chandler said. "Our citizens deserve full respect from the Department of Defense, not millions of dollars in frozen funding, proposed budget cuts and unacceptable studies to transport the weapons through their backyard.

"I hope this is a sign that the Department of Defense is ready to take Central Kentucky seriously and provide the funding to get this project back on track," Chandler said.

Mandy Langston can be reached at mlangston@richmondregister.com or 624-6694.