Allard, Salazar wrangling over Pinon Canyon moves
Source: The Pueblo Chieftain, by Peter Roper
September 20, 2007
Colorado U.S. Sens. Ken Salazar and Wayne Allard introduced their legislation Wednesday that would give the Army six months to explain why it needs to expand the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site northeast of Trinidad.
Meanwhile, the senators are trying to come to terms over another measure to impose a five-year moratorium on the Army's use of eminent domain to expand Pinon Canyon.
Both amendments are intended for the Defense Authorization Act that is being debated in the Senate this week. Like so many other pieces of legislation in the Senate, it is becoming a political battlefield between Democrats and Republicans over U.S. policy in Iraq.
Salazar, a freshman Democrat, announced the two Pinon Canyon amendments Wednesday in a weekly telephone press conference with Colorado reporters, saying Allard also supported them.
Allard, a two-term Republican who is not running for re-election next year, later disagreed that he had yet to endorse any moratorium amendment from Salazar. His staff issued a prickly statement to the effect that because Salazar was supporting a one-year ban on the Army doing any work on the planned expansion, Allard did not believe a five-year moratorium on the use of eminent domain was necessary.
Not long after, staffers from both offices were backtracking and said the two senators were still working on a possible amendment that would impose a moratorium on the Army's use of eminent domain.
"We haven't introduced an amendment on eminent domain yet and we continue to work on it together," Salazar spokesman Cody Wertz explained afterward.
Regardless of whether it's introduced, Salazar told reporters he wanted a five-year moratorium on the use of eminent domain, as well as the one-year delay in any further planning. He said all of the Pinon Canyon amendments were needed to calm the bitter confrontation between backers of the Army, such as the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, and the area ranchers who are afraid they would lose their lands in any expansion of Pinon Canyon.
Salazar and Allard are at odds over the Democrat's successful amending of a military construction bill last month that puts a one-year ban on the Army spending any money on planning the Pinon Canyon expansion in 2008. The Senate narrowly agreed to the delay on a 47-45 vote over Allard's objections.
The duo still agree, however, on the need for the Army to explain to Congress why it wants to expand Pinon Canyon.
Salazar said the reporting amendment calls for the Army to justify why it needs 414,000 additional acres at Pinon Canyon when a federal base closing commission said that was unnecessary, and also explain how Pinon Canyon is currently being used and what other federal lands could provide the needed training space.
Salazar announced his intention to put the reporting amendment in the defense bill last month, at the same time he introduced the one-year delay amendment. Acknowledging that Allard is on the House-Senate conference committee that will determine the final version of the military construction bill, Salazar said he hoped the Republican would leave the one-year delay in the final bill, noting the House passed a similar ban by a vote of 383 to 35.
"I would hope Senator Allard accepts the verdict of the Senate and that he does not try to undertake any effort to strip the amendment out of the conference committee," Salazar said. "The overwhelming passage in the House of Representatives indicates the amendment is something that's good. What I want to happen here is we need a time-out for people on both sides of this issue, for people to look at the questions we are asking the Army to answer when they report back to the Senate."
