U.S. Senator Ken Salazar Member of the Agriculture, Energy and Veterans Affairs Committees 2300 15^th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
For Immediate Release October 5, 2007		CONTACT:Stephanie Valencia – 202-228-3630 Cody Wertz 303-350-0032
Sen. Salazar Fights for Safety in Our Local Communities in CJS Appropriations Bill Salazar works to include over $2.9 million for fighting Meth and making Colorado communities safer WASHINGTON, DC – This week, the United States Senate began consideration of the Commerce, Justice, and Science Department Appropriations bill. The bill provides $56.6 billion in funds for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, the National Atmospheric and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation and nine other independent agencies. As Colorado’s former Attorney General and the state’s top law enforcement officer, Senator Ken Salazar knows how important it is for our local law enforcement agencies to have the resources they need to do their jobs. Senator Salazar has pushed for several Colorado specific projects to be included in the bill that will aid Colorado law enforcement fighting the scourge in meth production, keep our communities and schools safer and invest in criminal justice infrastructure. “Meth is poisoning our communities and is especially rampant in rural Colorado,” said Senator Salazar. “This bill will provide critical funds to the arsenals of those that are on the ground fighting the meth scourge. I will continue to fight for those funds and anything additional that will give our local law enforcement the tools they need to do their jobs and keep our communities safe.” Below is a listing of Colorado specific projects Senator Salazar has fought for: Combating Meth Production and Use $150,000 22nd Judicial District Drug Task Force $25,000 San Luis Valley Drug Task Force $400,000 The North Metro Task Force $100,000 Delta/Montrose Drug Task Force $100,000 Eagle County Drug Task Force $100,000 Greater Routt and Moffat Narcotics Enforcement Team $150,000 Weld County Drug Task Force $125,000 The West Metro Drug Task Force $150,000 Larimer County Drug Task Force $100,000 National Jewish Methamphetamine Intervention and Protection Program for Children Keeping Our Communities and Schools Safer $350,000 for the Colorado Schools Safety Program – University of Colorado, Boulder $300,000 for the Denver Police Department Gang Bureau $200,000 City of Montrose, Colorado Dispatch Center Investing in Criminal Justice Infrastructure Language urging the Bureau of Prisons to allocate the funding necessary to address safety issues at Supermax. $400,000 National Center for Audio/Video Forensics at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center Other Important Investments in Colorado $300,000 Colorado State University (CSU) Combined PET/CT Scanner Investments in the space industry: As the CJS Appropriations bill funds federal science agencies like NASA, Senator Salazar is supporting an amendment offered by Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) that will help restore $1 billion in emergency funding to NASA as a result of the costs incurred as a result of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident. Restoring this funding will allow NASA to continue its work with space and Earth science programs; aeronautics research; and critical development of the next generation of human spaceflight systems that will carry crew members to the International Space Station and eventually to the moon. “There is vital funding in this bill to bolster our science and space agencies which keep America at the forefront of research and development in science and space.” After this bill is considered in the Senate, it will go to conference committee with the House-passed bill where the difference between the two bills will be reconciled. ###