Senator McConnell Says Department of Defense Report Confirms Clean Up Funds Are Flowing To Blue Grass Army Depot
Senator McConnell Says Department of Defense Report Confirms Clean Up Funds Are Flowing To Blue Grass Army Depot
*McConnell says he's "encouraged" by the report but will continue to watch DOD "like a hawk"*
A Department of Defense (DOD) report, mandated by a provision authored by Senator Mitch McConnell, confirms that money is beginning to flow again toward the disposal of chemical weapons at the Blue Grass Army Depot.
The report states that, as of July 31, 2005, $1 million of the funds previously withheld by DOD was sent to Blue Grass Army Depot. For the month of August, the document reports that an additional $7.5 million had been directed to Blue Grass. Finally, the report projects that by this month DOD will be in compliance with the statutorily mandated goal of obligating $100 million for the entire Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA) program.
"Although the Department of Defense's report was overdue, it appears they are doing what the law instructed them to do and that is to spend money at Blue Grass to dispose of these weapons as Congress intended," said Senator McConnell.
Senator McConnell authored a provision in the FY 2005 Supplemental Appropriations Act that: 1) ensured that the $372.3 million in prior-year monies budgeted for ACWA sites would not be transferred from Blue Grass and Pueblo to other sites; 2) directed the Department of Defense to send at least $100 million to the ACWA sites within four months of enactment; and 3) prohibited the Department from conducting a study on the transportation of chemical weapons across state lines. The report accompanying the final bill also directed DOD to update the Congress regularly on how DOD was spending the monies.
"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," said Senator McConnell. "As I have said many times before, the safety of the people of Kentucky is paramount; therefore, I will not rest until these chemical agents are disposed of safely."
http://mcconnell.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=246069&start=1