Mark Udall: “this bill is not perfect. But it provides appropriate funding for many important purposes, and I will vote for it.…”

“this bill is not perfect. But it provides appropriate funding for many important purposes, and I will vote for it. Subcommittee Chairman Hobson, ranking member Visclosky, and their colleagues on the Appropriations Committee deserve our thanks for their work on this legislation. Their task was made harder by the restrictions imposed by the budget resolution championed by the Republican leadership, and the bill does not include some things that I think should have been funded. But I think they have done a good job with the allocation of funds available to them, and the bill does include some items of particular importance to Coloradans. In particular, I am very pleased that it will provide nearly $580 million to continue--and, I hope, complete--the cleanup of Rocky Flats. Formed by the location of a facility for making key parts of nuclear weapons, the Rocky Flats site is located just 15 miles from downtown Denver and at one time was the location of large quantities of nuclear materials and other hazardous substances. Because of its proximity to our state's major metropolitan area, timely and effective cleanup and closure of the site has been a matter of top priority for all Coloradans.…”