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U.S. Senate accepts Wyden resolution calling for
comprehensive schedule to destroy chemical weapons
Resolution also calls for annual reports
to Congress, adequate funding for
safe and speedy elimination of the chemical weapons stockpile
June
16, 2006
Washington, D.C. – A resolution
cosponsored by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden urging the Secretary of
Defense to “prepare a comprehensive schedule for safely
destroying the United States chemical weapons stockpiles”
and calling for annual reports to Congress on the progress of
that effort has been included in the Department of Defense authorization
bill currently being debated on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
The resolution, accepted unanimously into the Department of Defense
authorization bill last night, also includes new language calling
on the Secretary to “make every effort to ensure adequate
funding to complete the elimination of the United States chemical
weapons stockpile in the shortest time possible, consistent with
the requirement to protect public health, safety, and the environment.”
“This resolution sends a clear
message that public safety and the speedy elimination of the chemical
weapons stockpile are priorities for the Congress,” Wyden
said. “We’ve had some positive news recently about
the destruction of the last of the sarin gas bombs, but the people
living in communities around the Umatilla Depot deserve better
than continually changing deadlines for the final elimination
of the chemical weapons stockpile.”
The bipartisan sense of the Senate
resolution which was accepted into the Department of Defense authorization
bill last night was initially introduced in May by U.S. Senator
Ken Salazar (D-Colorado) and cosponsored by Wyden and U.S. Senators
Wayne Allard (R-Colorado), Evan Bayh (D-Indiana), Jim Bunning
(R-Kentucky) and Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky).
Recognizing that safety must be
the primary concern at the Depot, Wyden has long been an advocate
of safety at the Umatilla Chemical Depot and in the surrounding
communities. In May 2005, Wyden also joined with Allard and Salazar
in passing legislation to prevent the transportation of chemical
weapons materials across state borders and into Oregon. In 2003,
he worked with U.S. Senator Gordon Smith (R-Oregon) and U.S. Representative
Greg Walden (R-Oregon) to secure $4.1 million for a variety of
safety projects in and around the Umatilla Depot. And in 1999,
he released a study from the Government Accountability Office
that found that an emergency preparedness program at the facility
lacked sufficient management; Wyden then worked with the Federal
Emergency Management Agency and Army representatives to ensure
the maximum protection for citizens living and working near the
facility.
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