Wayne Allard: “I rise today, with Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, to introduce a very important piece of legislation for my state of…”

“I rise today, with Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, to introduce a very important piece of legislation for my state of Colorado and this nation--The Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge Act. My colleague, Representative Mark Udall, is introducing companion legislation in the House cosponsored by the entire Colorado delegation. Today we begin a new chapter in the history of Rocky Flats. This legislation will permanently designate the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site as a National Wildlife Refuge following the cleanup and closure of the site. It ensures that the Federal Government will retain full liability and ownership of this former nuclear weapons facility. This legislation will transform Rocky Flats from producing weapons to protecting wildlife. It will ensure that our children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy the wildlife and open space that currently exists at Rocky Flats. This is a tremendous achievement. Once the bill is enacted, we will see Rocky Flats move from being an active nuclear weapons site into an active refuge for wildlife and wild flowers in less than two decades. An accomplishment which no one thought was possible.”