Kansas senators blast bill that includes BRAC funding

? Kansas Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts blasted congressional Democrats on Thursday for including military base construction projects in a bill that ties war spending to a pullout of combat troops from Iraq.

The Senate Republicans offered their own nonbinding resolution that would discourage lawmakers from including items that “provoke veto threats from the president” in bills that fund the base realignment process.

“These are important debates we should have, but as controversial as they are, attaching them to the supplemental bill with our BRAC funding could deny funding for our troops,” Roberts said in a statement. “Once again, political games are wreaking havoc with our national defense capabilities.”

Kansas bases are in line for millions of dollars in improvements and thousands of new troops after the base closure and realignment process two years ago. Last week, the Pentagon announced it would release about $325 million for BRAC-related projects in Kansas. But more than $100 million in additional Kansas projects are included in the war spending bill.

“Funding for the BRAC Commission’s recommendations is urgent and should not be held hostage by partisan politics,” Brownback said in a statement. “Voting in favor of a funding bill that President Bush will veto because of extraneous controversial provisions undermines Kansas military installations and the many communities that support them.”

Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., introduced a similar resolution in the House. Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Kan., supports the House spending bill because it establishes oversight of the war and sets conditions for redeploying troops from Iraq.