Politics
Rep. Lauren Boebert Introduces the Pueblo Jobs Act
Today, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (CO-03) introduced the Pueblo Jobs Act to require the Secretary of the Army to utilize the standard Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process to close the Pueblo Chemical Depot Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in a manner that will provide economic certainty and support at least a thousand jobs in Pueblo.
Congresswoman Lauren Boebert stated, “Ensuring the federal government does all it can to help the community transition during the Pueblo Chemical Depot’s closure is one of my priorities. My Pueblo Jobs Act will prohibit the federal government from cutting corners by requiring the Secretary of the Army to rigorously follow the standard Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process when closing the Pueblo Chemical Depot to provide certainty for the Pueblo economy and foster future job creation.”
PuebloPlex President & CEO Russell DeSalvo III said, “I am very encouraged by the support we are seeing for this bill as PuebloPlex assumes its role as the Local Redevelopment Authority responsible for the long-term redevelopment of the Pueblo Chemical Depot. Because Pueblo and the surrounding communities are facing significant adverse economic effects due to the closure, this bill’s passage is a crucial step in transitioning the site into a key job source and community asset.”
Background:
As part of the 1988 round of base closures and realignments, the Base Closure Commission recommended the Realignment of the Pueblo Chemical Depot, except for that portion of the Pueblo Chemical Depot set aside as the Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant required for the demilitarization and destruction of chemical weapons in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention Treaty. The Pueblo Jobs Act closes this loophole by requiring the Secretary of the Army to close all parts of the Pueblo Chemical Depot in accordance with the BRAC process, including the previously excluded Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant.
Requiring the Army to use the BRAC process while closing the Pueblo Chemical Depot will help protect the local community from severe economic downturns and job loss. The BRAC process provides the opportunity to reuse portions of the Plant and associated property for economic development, job creation, and retention, and lessens the economic impact of the Depot closure on Pueblo and Southeastern Colorado.
Congresswoman Boebert is a strong advocate for policies that will invest in Pueblo as the Army closes the Pueblo Chemical Depot. One of Congresswoman Boebert’s first actions in office was to visit the Pueblo Chemical Depot to engage in critical economic development conversations.
Congresswoman Boebert was able to secure key provisions in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including a requirement that the Army finishes its plan to invest in the Pueblo community during the decommissioning of the Pueblo Chemical Weapons Depot. For more information about how Congresswoman Boebert advocated for Colorado during the NDAA negotiations, see her op-ed published by the Denver Post, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, and Vail Daily.
Congresswoman Boebert wrote a letter supporting a grant for PuebloPlex to help facilitate the decommissioning of the Pueblo Chemical Weapons Depot in a way that is beneficial for the local community. Her letter supported PuebloPlex’s Southern Colorado Surface Transportation Technology and Innovation Economic Cluster Expansion Project grant application. This project includes projects designed to grow the surface transportation technology and innovation economic cluster throughout Southern Colorado. Some of these projects included: 1) Planning and implementation of an air, rail, and truck inland port that leverages significant existing resources including Pueblo Memorial Airport, Pueblo Memorial Airport Industrial Park, PuebloPlex, and the federal Transportation Technology Center, a surface transportation testing and training facility. 2) Implementation of a regional workforce development project led by a consortium of colleges in the region including Lamar Community College, Otero College, Pueblo Community College, Trinidad State College, and Colorado State University-Pueblo. This program is aimed at developing a highly-skilled workforce throughout the region ready to be employed by the growing economic cluster.
