WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today joined Senator Kay Bay Hutchinson (R-TX) and Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) in urging consideration of their amendment to restore more than $3.1 billion in critical BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) military construction funds cut from the Continuing Resolution passed by the House last week, including $375 million in projects for Ft. Riley and Ft. Leavenworth.

Late yesterday in Topeka, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius’ Military Council, chaired by former Lieutenant Governor John Moore, unanimously voted to support Senator Pat Roberts’ efforts to restore these funds.

Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), Kansas’s U.S. Congressmen Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Todd Tiahrt (R-KS), also strongly opposed the House action last week.

Senator Roberts outlined the following issues on the Senate floor today:

"We are in danger of under-funding military construction associated with BRAC by over $3 billion dollars. Should the Senate let this occur, we will have failed our nation’s soldiers and their families. I am not willing to let this happen without a fight. Our country and our volunteer force that sacrifice so much in defending our nation deserve Senators that will fight for their well being."

"In fact, there are almost $375 million dollars worth of Kansas BRAC related projects will be put at risk if this shortfall is not addressed. And there are even more projects at risk in future years if the operational tempo of the Army is disrupted.

"Mr. President, I want to be sure that all our colleagues understand exactly what this shortfall could mean to our men and women in uniform, and their families, that will be based in Kansas.

"The Combat Aviation Brigade, or CAB, which is coming to Fort Riley, Kansas as a result of the BRAC process, is in danger of losing $152 million dollars for a complex that will house their barracks, their office space, their hangers, their fueling aprons, and their crash rescue fire station.

"The CAB is deploying to Iraq soon and needs these facilities when they return. The Commanding General at Fort Riley, General Carter Hamm, told me yesterday that if the CAB comes home in 2008 to find these projects incomplete, they will have to live in dated facilities that will provide worse living conditions than the CAB will find in Iraq.

"Mr. President, let me repeat that statement for our colleagues. If this construction project fails to move forward, members of the CAB will return to housing at Fort Riley that will be below anything they have experienced in Iraq. Is this really the way the Senate wants to treat these soldiers?

"This is not right. It is not what we as a nation should be offering our soldiers. It is not the homecoming they should receive. If we allow it to happen, it will be an embarrassment for this Senate, Congress and nation.

"Not only is the CAB in danger of losing all of their support facilities, they need a new runway. Specifically, they need a $17 million dollar runway that is in danger of being cut as a result of this $3 billion dollar deficit. Again, I find it unacceptable to move these soldiers, deploy these soldiers, and then inadequately support them when they return home. They deserve better.

"Fort Riley is also in danger of losing an $87 million dollar Division Headquarters and Sustainment Brigade Headquarters to support another group of soldiers that will be returning from their current deployment in Iraq.

"If these facilities are not done by the time they return, they will be required to use modular buildings that will provide only half of the space necessary to do their jobs.

"These soldiers are already sacrificing for their nation. Right now, as I speak. I refuse to ask them to also sacrifice when they return home from a deployment. They are doing their jobs. We ought to do ours.

"The problems that will likely result from a delay in these funds are real. As a result of the BRAC process, nearly 11,000 soldiers and their families have already begun moving to the Fort Riley area.

"This is unprecedented growth for this area of Kansas and the surrounding communities. And, the Fort Riley area does not currently have the support facilities to ensure these soldiers and their families have full access to health, dental and child care.

"And yet, Fort Riley could possibly lose a $17.5 million dollar Health and Dental Clinic and a $5.7 million dollar Child Development Center due to this funding shortfall.

"These Health and Dental and Child Care facilities will make an enormous difference in the quality of life of thousands of soldiers and their families that are coming to Fort Riley.

"Mr. President, these soldiers and their families are sacrificing for this nation EVERYDAY. Our troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other theaters of operation throughout the world, should not have to worry about their Congress failing to provide the facilities necessary to take care of their families back home in the United States.

"It is unacceptable. And I refuse to ask it of them.

"I also refuse to ask Fort Riley to give up another of its projects that is in jeopardy as a result of the proposed deficit in funding.

"Fort Riley is currently in need of a $27 million dollar Battle Command Training Center that will prepare our troops for action they will see in the field. This center is necessary for training command, control and communication functions that are critical to the training of brigade and division staffs.

"There is an additional Kansas project in jeopardy of losing funding that is of deep concern to me. And it should be of deep concern to the Army, the Senate, and this nation. That project is the Joint Regional Corrections Facility at Fort Leavenworth.

"The Army needs to build this Joint Regional Corrections Facility to house prisoners from around the nation that are to be moved to Kansas. Currently, the Army is stretched to its limit and needs these new beds for prisoners- or there will simply be nowhere for them to go.

"As the Acting Commanding General at Fort Leavenworth, Brigadier General Mark O’Neill, told me yesterday, add to the equation that the facility is underfunded at $68 million dollars to begin with, and we have a major problem.

"Fort Leavenworth needs $95 million at a bare minimum to construct this facility. That is $27 million more than was even budgeted. And the Senate is telling them they might receive zip, zero, nada.

"This is truly a dire situation. And I am at a loss for words to express how disappointed I am.

"I am not alone in this disappointment. Kansas leaders share my concern. Just last night, Governor Sebelius’ Military Council passed a unanimous resolution supporting my efforts to bring this amendment before the Senate. This bipartisan support shows just how important these funds are to our military.

"Underfunding BRAC Milcon by 3 billion dollars, or even one dollar, sends a horrible message to our troops. And, it tears to shreds the bipartisan support involved with the BRAC process.

"Mr. President, isn’t it ironic, at a time when many of our colleagues in the House and Senate are saying, "Bring the troops home now," those same colleagues apparently do not think it is necessary to provide the facilities that will support those troops and their families.

"What kind of message does that send?

"This is unacceptable in any nation, much less one that is relying so much on its volunteer force. The dedication of the honorable men and women who serve should be held up as a beacon of hope and courage for our nation. We must take care of them and we must take care of their families.

"In my mind, there is no other option. I urge the Majority Leader to support our troops and their families by allowing a vote on this amendment. And, I urge my colleagues to support it.

"To do any less will represent a lack of leadership in the Senate. And, it will tell our troops that they cannot, and should not, count on our support.

"We, as members of this distinguished body, should get this job done. We owe it to our soldiers and their families."

Senator Roberts, a former Marine, is a strong advocate for the nation’s men and women in uniform and their families.