Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet announced that legislation containing more than $800 million in critical funding for Colorado military bases, the new veterans' hospital at Fitzsimons, and chemical weapons destruction at Pueblo Chemical Depot has passed the Appropriations Committee and is now headed to the full Senate for consideration.

"Colorado's men and women in uniform depend on this funding for the training they need to prepare for battle, and I'm proud to support them and their families in the U.S. Senate," said Senator Udall, a member of the Armed Services Committee. "Additionally, I'm very pleased that we're continuing to move forward with construction on the VA hospital at Fitzsimons and with chemical weapons destruction at the Pueblo Chemical Depot. I've fought alongside Coloradans for many years to get adequate funding for a state-of-the-art VA hospital and to destroy the dangerous stockpile of chemical weapons. This bill ensures that we will continue to keep faith with our veterans and with the people of Pueblo."

"By banding together and putting politics aside, we have done right by Coloradans who have put their lives on the line to protect us and keep our country safe," Senator Bennet said. "From breaking ground at Fitzsimons to funding for our other military installations, the delegation has fought hard to protect our servicemen and women. Even with all the partisan wrangling going on in Washington, one thing we must all agree on - Republicans, Democrats and Independents - is the need to support our troops, their families, and our military installations."

Funding for Colorado installations in the Fiscal Year 2011-12 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill:

Veterans Affairs
VA Hospital at Fitzsimons - $450,700,000
The VA officially broke ground on the new stand-alone veterans' hospital last August. The new full-service VA hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus, set to open in 2013, will offer comprehensive specialty care services, including a 30-bed Spinal Cord Injury Center, and provide a full range of medical, laboratory, research, and counseling services.

Pueblo Chemical Depot
Chemical Demilitarization Facilities - $65,569,000
The funding would allow the Pentagon to speed up the schedule for weapons destruction and clean-up at Pueblo Chemical Depot, and to complete the work by the congressionally mandated date of 2017. Construction has already begun in Pueblo on a neutralization facility for the mustard agent stored there, as well as a biotreatment facility that would break down the hydrolysate byproduct.

Buckley Air Force Base
• Land Acquisition - $10,000,000
As development continues in the surrounding community, take-off and landing at Buckley Air Force Base is increasingly difficult. To ensure mission capabilities and safety at Buckley, Senators Udall and Bennet advocated for funding that will enable the base to acquire roughly 191 adjacent acres of land to permanently protect the clear zone and eliminate any potential hazards to the flying mission.

• Security Forces Operations Facility - $12,160,000
The current Buckley Air Force Base Security Forces Operations Facility is housed in modular trailers and was found to be too small to support force protection security requirements. The new facility will support the requirements and centralize security forces functions into one facility.

Colorado National Guard
• Regional Training Institute at Fort Carson - $40,000,000
The Regional Training Institute will replace converted 1970s-era barracks with a new facility that had been planned since 2003. The Colorado National Guard was selected to operate the first multi-component professional military education facility in the Army when the 4th Infantry Division was reassigned to Fort Carson. RTI now trains about 2,500 students across all components, about 75 percent of them active duty, 15 percent National Guard, and 10 percent Army Reserve.

• Gypsum High-Altitude Army Aviation Training Site (HAATS) Support Facility - $39,000,000
The HAATS Army Aviation Support Facility will replace a facility that is outdated, too small, and not compliant with current life safety codes. This new facility will fully support the helicopter training, operations and maintenance for the aircraft associated with HAATS - the only Department of Defense High Altitude Helicopter training venue.

• Armories - $27,500,00
Colorado Springs - $20,000,000
Windsor - $7,500,000
Because the Colorado Army National Guard has been successful in recruiting and retaining soldiers, a new Infantry Battalion with more than 800 National Guard Members has been assigned to Colorado. It will be accommodated in five communities, among them Colorado Springs and Windsor. These facilities are necessary for our National Guard to train and provide emergency response capabilities and will be assets to their communities.

Fort Carson
• Automated Sniper Field Fire Range - $3,650,000
• Battalion Headquarters - $6,700,000
• Brigade Complex - $56,000,000
• Simulations Center - $40,000,000

Special Operations Command
Fort Carson SOF Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Hangar - $3,717,000

Peterson Air Force Base
RAIDRS (Rapid Attack Identification Detection Reporting System) Space Control Facility - $24,800,000

U.S. Air Force Academy
Center for Character and Leadership Development - $27,600,000