House passes Boebert-backed Pueblo Jobs Act with National Defense Authorization Act

A bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert that directly affects Pueblo was included in the National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the House of Representatives Friday.

Boebert’s office said in a press release that the Pueblo bill was passed unanimously in a voice vote.

The defense spending bill was passed on a near-party line vote, with four Democrats voting for the measure and four Republicans voting against.

How the 'Pueblo Jobs Act' affects Pueblo

Boebert, a second-term legislator, said the bill could be one of her first to become law.

“I'm really thrilled that my first bill that will be signed into law delivers for Pueblo,” Boebert told the Chieftain.

The bill is called the Pueblo Jobs Act. Boebert introduced it alongside Colorado’s other Republicans in Congress, Doug Lamborn and Ken Buck. The Pueblo Jobs Act aims to create at least 1,000 jobs in town after the depot closes.

Mission accomplished: Pueblo Chemical Depot destroys final munition

The U.S. Army recently announced that all of its chemical weapon stockpile has been destroyed, but the depot will remain open for another few years while some parts of the facility are decontaminated and operations wind down.

Approximately 2,000 people work at the depot and about half of them want to stay in Pueblo after the depot closes, according to Russell DeSalvo, the President/CEO of PuebloPlex, the entity that runs the land where the depot is situated.

DeSalvo said the bill gives the community more certainty about how the property can transition to community ownership and makes parts of the property easier to sell in the future.

The bill also states that some grant funding could be made available to the facility.

The defense spending bill was controversial. Here's why

The National Defense Authorization Act, which has passed with broad bipartisan support in previous years, drew scorn from Congressional Democrats who objected to “anti-woke” measures folded into the bill, including barring funding for military members who need to travel to obtain an abortion and supporting gender-affirming care for service members.

Boebert defended the anti-abortion funding amendment on Twitter and with the Chieftain, noting that the Hyde Amendment prohibits federal money going to abortion services.

“I don't think that that's something that tax dollars should go to,” Boebert said. “I've said from the beginning of my campaign that Planned Parenthood can go fund themselves — that's not on the hook of the American taxpayer.”

Boebert also sponsored an amendment to the NDAA that bans buying books containing “pornographic materials” and “espousing gender ideology” from Department of Defense agencies operating schools.

Adam Frisch, the Democrat who narrowly lost to Boebert in November 2022 and is running again in the 2024 Democratic primary, condemned Boebert’s anti-abortion stance in a press release.

“Members of our military deserve dignity and respect as they make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Instead, Rep. Boebert and the other members of the angertainment industry have made our service members the latest pawn in their partisan political games,” Frisch said.

The current iteration of the NDAA may face an uphill battle in the Democratic-controlled Senate, but Boebert said she’s confident the Pueblo Jobs Act can become law.

“Certainly, we have some negotiations ahead of us. … But I'm very excited and I'm confident that this will be signed into law,” Boebert said.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story mischaracterized how jobs would be created after the depot closes.

Anna Lynn Winfrey covers politics for the Pueblo Chieftain. She can be reached at awinfrey@gannett.com or on Twitter, @annalynnfrey.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Lauren Boebert-backed Pueblo Jobs Act passes House of Representatives