McConnell Provision Directing Department Of Defense To Spend Appropriated Funds At Blue Grass Army Depot Clears The Senate

McConnell Provision Directing Department Of Defense To Spend Appropriated Funds At Blue Grass Army Depot Clears The Senate

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell announced today that the Senate has approved a provision he authored in the FY'05 Supplemental Appropriations bill that blocks the Department of Defense from redirecting funds appropriated for the disposal of chemical weapons at the Blue Grass Army and Pueblo Chemical Depots to other facilities.

McConnell's provision:

· Ensures that the $813.4 million in prior-year monies budgeted for Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA) sites will not be transferred from Blue Grass and Pueblo to other sites.

· Forces the Department of Defense to spend at least $100 million at the ACWA sites within four months of enactment and provide Congress with a bi-monthly accounting of the monies.

· Prohibits the Department from conducting a study on the transportation of chemical weapons across state lines.

"I am pleased the Senate agreed to my provision directing the Department of Defense to fulfill its obligations to the citizens of Madison County," said Senator McConnell. "I will fight to keep it in the final version of the bill."

Earlier this week, Senator McConnell responded to a memo from Under Secretary of Defense Michael Wynne that directed FY'05 funds be released to the ACWA Program Manager and took the option of transporting chemical weapons off of the table. While McConnell noted that this, "is a step in the right direction," he kept his provision in the FY'05 Supplemental Appropriations bill in order to, "keep a watchful eye on the program."

McConnell's measure was only included in the Senate version of the FY'05 Supplemental Appropriations bill. The bill now moves to a House/Senate conference where the differences will be worked out.

http://mcconnell.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=236795&start=1