Senate panel OKs funds for training

Monday, May 13, 2002 | 10 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The bomb-scarred Nevada Test Site may be moving closer to becoming a national academy for counterterrorism training.

As Congress hammers out its budget for the next fiscal years, the Senate Armed Services Committee last week approved $50 million for the training -- $40 million more than President Bush's budget proposal. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the No. 2 Senate Democrat who also sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, negotiated to have the money increased.

The Test Site is already home to weapons of mass destruction training for a variety of first-responder teams from around the nation. The training includes response to chemical and biological attacks.

Since Sept. 11, Nevada lawmakers have renewed their effort to establish a more permanent "premier" national training school that offers a broad array of anti-terrorism training, from combat exercises to emergency response.

The 1,350-square-mile Test Site, with its nearest border about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, has been redefining its mission since 1992 when a nuclear weapons test ban was put in place by Bush's father. An arm of the Department of Energy manages the site.

"The Test Site possesses an ideal combination of assets for such a facility, including a secure location for mission preparation, a large land area for training, exercises, and experimentation, and a work force skilled in combat experimentation, testing and training," Reid said.

Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham toured the Test Site earlier this year but they have not endorsed the national academy. Leaders in other states also are angling for more federal money for counter-terrorism activities.