Congressman looks for truce in Pinon Canyon fight

A Colorado congressman is pushing a measure he hopes will bury the Army's long-dormant plans to expand Fort Carson's Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site. Republican U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner has offered a measure that would ban the Army from expanding the 235,000-acre training area without a congressional vote. Gardner said that would put an end to an annual push by ranchers in southeastern Colorado to ban expansion funding, and tamp down years of rancor between the Army and its neighbors. "It's quite frankly not been good for Fort Carson or the people of Southern Colorado," said Gardner, whose 4th Congressional District includes Pinon Canyon. "I think the negative publicity surrounding the yearly fight was not good for Fort Carson." Every year since 2006, Congress has taken up legislation to ban funding to expand the training area. The Army in 2005 issued plans to expand Pinon Canyon, with its ambitions starting at an eye-popping 418,000 acres before it settled on a 100,000-acre expansion. Gardner's measure, an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act which has drawn bipartisan support, doesn't block future expansion, but makes it more difficult. The Army would be required to complete an environmental impact assessment for expansion and get measures to pay for the land through both chambers of Congress...more

A Congressman who actually wants Congress to be held accountable for what it spends - what a novel idea!

A similar amendment should be attached to each agency's appropriation bill.