[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 26, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S594-S596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ALLARD (for himself, Mr. Salazar, Mr. Shelby, Mr. 
        McConnell, Mr. Bunning, and Mr. Sarbanes):
  S. 186. A bill to prohibit the use of Department of Defense funds for 
any study related to the transportation of chemical munitions across 
State lines; to the Committee on Armed Services.
  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I rise to discuss an issue of considerable 
importance to the people of southern Colorado. For nearly 50 years, the 
people of

[[Page S595]]

southern Colorado have lived with the knowledge that within a few miles 
of their homes, schools, and places of business lies one of the largest 
stockpiles of chemical munitions in the world. The Pueblo Chemical 
Depot was built during World War II and continues to this day to serve 
as an ammunition and material storage facility. Since the mid-1990s, 
the primary mission of the depot has been to protect the 780,000 
chemical weapons being stored there.
  As required by the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Department of 
Defense in 1997 launched an aggressive program to dismantle the U.S. 
chemical weapons stockpile. The program has since repeatedly stumbled 
and has not met the expectations of the international community, 
Congress and, most important, the people who live near these 
stockpiles. The costs of the program have risen from $15 billion in 
1997 to $24 billion in 2001, an increase of $9 billion in 4 years. Some 
have estimated that the program will cost as much as $30 billion by the 
time it is completed.
  The time schedule has experienced unconscionable delays. Last year 
cleanup of Pueblo was expected to be completed by 2011. The 
Department's latest budget decision has pushed the date all the way 
back to 2021, 9 years after the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty 
deadline.
  Numerous safety incidents have occurred at operational sites, 
shutting down one facility for 9 months. Poor contracting has resulted 
in the shutting down of another facility, which is now costing the 
Federal Government $300,000 a day to keep operationally ready. It was 
hardly a surprise then when the President's own management assessment 
last year labeled this program as ineffective.
  On top of these numerous problems, the Department of Defense has 
failed to fully communicate its intentions to either Congress or the 
local community. Last week, for instance, Senator Salazar, my colleague 
from Colorado, and I met with two Department of Defense officials to 
discuss this program. At that meeting we requested that the Defense 
Department answer some questions and were promised a written response 
from Under Secretary of Defense Michael Wynne within 3 days. That 
meeting was held over a week ago, and we have yet to receive a 
response.
  At least we in Congress can get a meeting. Members of the local 
community in Pueblo, CO have been trying to get an official from the 
Defense Department to meet with them to discuss the Pentagon's plans 
for weeks. Despite the fact that the Defense Department is trying to 
unilaterally shut down the design work at Pueblo, the Pentagon has not 
taken the time to meet with the residents who, if the Pentagon gets its 
way, will be forced to live for another 15 years near an aging 
stockpile housing three-quarters of a million chemical weapons.
  The latest and most frustrating Pentagon effort in this program is to 
study once again the possibility of transporting the 2,600 tons of 
mustard gas across the State of Colorado to an incinerator site out of 
the State. Never mind that this option has been studied at least three 
times in the past decade, and never mind that current law prohibits the 
transport of chemical munitions across State lines, and never mind that 
transporting these weapons out of State would violate the agreement the 
Defense Department made with the people in Pueblo.

  This study is unnecessary and a waste of taxpayers' hard-earned 
dollars. I don't know how simpler we can make it. I have already been 
told by Pentagon officials that the study is going to conclude that the 
transportation of chemical munitions across State lines is not 
practical. If that is the case, why do the study? Why waste $150,000 to 
study the feasibility of an option that is against the law and has 
already been determined by the Pentagon to be impractical?
  With the Department wasting money on meaningless studies, it is no 
wonder that this program is over budget and behind schedule. I think it 
is time we took a stand against the Pentagon's wasteful actions. 
Therefore, I am introducing legislation today that will stop this study 
and force the Department of Defense to recognize that the only option 
for destroying its chemical munitions is to build a disposal site in 
Pueblo.
  I am pleased to announce that my colleague from Colorado, Senator Ken 
Salazar, has agreed to cosponsor this legislation. I wanted to mention, 
though, that Senator Mitch McConnell, Senator Bunning, and Senator 
Shelby have also agreed to cosponsor. We should not forget that Senator 
McConnell in particular has been fighting the Department on this issue 
for over a decade. In many respects, Senator McConnell's hard work has 
paved the way for the legislation I am introducing today along with my 
colleague from the State of Colorado, Senator Salazar.
  I urge my other colleagues to join us in putting the Department on 
notice that this kind of wasteful, meaningless effort will not be 
tolerated.
  I believe it is time the Pentagon took a good look at its chemical 
demilitarization program. Our country cannot afford to throw away our 
scarce defense dollars into a program that continues to be so 
incredibly mismanaged. Nor should our Nation's diplomats be put in the 
position of having to explain why we can't meet our treaty obligations 
to the likes of China, Iran, or France. Most importantly, we cannot 
forget the thousands of innocent Americans who continue to live near 
these sites. They bear the burden of the Pentagon's mismanagement. It 
is not fair to them when all they have asked for is that these 
munitions be cleaned up in a manner that is safe and does not harm the 
environment.
  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I rise today along with my colleagues in 
relation to the Pueblo Chemical Depot. When the Senate ratified the 
Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997, it became U.S. law and our sworn 
obligation to destroy our Nation's chemical weapons stockpiles by 2012. 
With the advent of the global war on terror, this responsibility has 
taken on even more importance. We must destroy these weapons to ensure 
the health and safety of the citizens of the State of Colorado.
  We must also stand as an example to the world that we are firmly 
resolved in our commitment to reducing the threats posed by weapons of 
mass destruction in our Nation.
  Given the gravity of the situation, I cannot understand why the 
Department of Defense is shirking from their responsibility in this 
matter.
  Until recently, the relationship between the Army and the citizens of 
Pueblo had an excellent track record, proving that when good people 
come together and operate from a position of trust, significant 
problems can be solved. Yet, one day after Senator Allard and I were 
absolutely assured by the Department of Defense that the chemical 
weapons stored in Pueblo would not be transported, and that the weapons 
would be destroyed in Pueblo by the environmentally safe method of 
water neutralization, the Department of Defense turned around and 
commenced a study on the feasibility of transporting the stockpiles out 
of Pueblo to be incinerated at another site--twenty-four hours after 
they said they wouldn't.
  I believe we were given a good faith commitment last week that the 
destruction of the weapons would continue at Pueblo using the water 
neutralization technology agreed upon, and that the munitions would not 
be transferred elsewhere. While we wait for the promised clarification 
on these matters, Senator Allard and I believe it is necessary to 
emphasize our resolve.
  To help provide that emphasis, we are introducing this bill. It is a 
straightforward, one-line bill to prohibit the use of Department of 
Defense funds for any study related to the transportation of chemical 
munitions across State lines.
  Mr. President, the sheer number of weapons awaiting destruction at 
the Pueblo Chemical Depot is staggering: more than three-quarters of a 
million artillery shells and mortar rounds. Transporting these weapons 
would be a dangerous and expensive enterprise. It would be subject to 
legal challenges by the towns and the States involved, and it is 
against Federal law.
  In short, transporting these weapons will not save time, and it will 
not save money. But this bill we have brought to the floor will save 
both time and money, because it stops the frivolous study and returns 
the focus to the issue at hand: the safe destruction of the chemical 
weapons at Pueblo by water neutralization.

[[Page S596]]

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, one of the first meetings I had as a 
U.S. Senator 20 years ago was about the aging chemical weapons stored 
at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond, KY. At the time, the Army was 
ignoring the concerns of the community and attempting to incinerate the 
weapons irrespective of the potential risk.
  Not much has changed.
  I have spent the last 20 years fighting for the citizens of Kentucky 
who live in proximity to these dangerous weapons, and although the 
party responsible for the weapons is now the Department of Defense, the 
problem remains the same. Those responsible for the destruction of the 
chemical stockpiles are ignoring the best interests and concerns of the 
citizens who live near them.
  Every time I have helped the community to clear a hurdle, whether it 
was to force the Army to investigate alternative technologies to 
incineration or the creation of a new organization to manage the new 
method of demilitarization, a new obstacle has been put in the path of 
stockpile destruction. Currently, the citizens of Kentucky and Colorado 
are being robbed to pay for the massive cost overruns at incineration 
sites throughout the country.
  The budgets for demilitarization at Blue Grass and Pueblo have been 
slashed, and the money has been transferred to other accounts in spite 
of the fact that Blue Grass and Pueblo had succeeded in securing 
permits from the local environmental agencies in record time. The 
Assembled Chemical Weapons Agency, which has been tasked with managing 
the demilitarization of these stockpiles, is respected and trusted by 
the community. And I believe the Department's decision to cut funding 
for ACWA in the FY06 budget is a slap in the face to the citizens of 
Kentucky and Colorado, and an insult to the fine people at ACWA.
  Now the Department has suggested it wants to transport the weapons 
from these depots through our communities to incineration sites. This 
will not happen so long as I am a U.S. Senator.
  After the time and energy I have expended on ensuring these weapons 
are disposed of in a safe and environmentally friendly manner, I am 
personally insulted by the Department's efforts to delay destruction 
and its suggestion of transporting the weapons elsewhere.
  The Department has an obligation to the citizens of Kentucky and 
Colorado to dispose of these stockpiles in an expeditious and safe 
manner. Congress and the Department, working with the communities, 
certified an alternative means of disposal, and it is unacceptable for 
the Department to walk away from this promise. Destruction of 
stockpiles at Blue Grass and Pueblo deserves full funding from the 
Department of Defense, and I will work to put the demilitarization of 
these stockpiles back on schedule.
  I want to thank my friend, Senator Allard, for his efforts to safely 
dispose of these dangerous stockpiles. As a member of the Armed 
Services Committee, Senator Allard was a tireless advocate for the 
citizens of Colorado who live near these weapons. I am happy to welcome 
Senator Allard to the Appropriations Committee, where I look forward to 
working with him to ensure that Blue Grass and Pueblo receive the 
funding attention that is so long overdue.
  Although the Department may come to its senses and decide not to 
pursue the shipment of decaying stockpiles of chemical weapons through 
suburban Kentucky or Colorado, I've come to learn that trusting the 
best judgment of the folks in charge of this program is never a sure 
bet. For that reason, I'm proud to be an original cosponsor of Senator 
Allard's legislation, which will prohibit the shipment of chemical 
weapons from any Army installation. These weapons need to be destroyed, 
but they need to be destroyed safely at the locations where they 
currently are stored. Moving 60-year-old stockpiles of leaking mustard 
agent is not a solution to a budget problem, it is a recipe for 
disaster.
                                 ______