Obama Seeks Funds For Weapons Destruction

The Obama Administration is seeking a significant increase in funding for the Defense Department’s chemical weapons disposal program. The Administration is asking Congress to provide $779 million in fiscal 2013 to continue the construction of facilities in Kentucky and Colorado where stockpiles of obsolete chemical weapons are slated for destruction. Congress appropriated $477 million for the program in the current fiscal year. “The funding request for the Kentucky and Colorado disposal projects reflects the continued commitment by the Pentagon to the accelerated effort to rid us of these weapons,” says Craig Williams, director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group, a Kentucky-based watchdog organization. The Pentagon would direct $411 million to the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky and $340 million to the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado. The remaining $28 million would be used for program management. Disposal of about 2,600 tons of mustard agent at the Pueblo depot is expected to begin in 2015 and conclude in 2017. Disposal work at the Kentucky facility is scheduled to start in 2018 and finish in 2021.