Senator Elizabeth Warren said she opposes a funding extension for a proposed machine gun range on Joint Base Cape Cod.
On Thursday June 12, the Senate Armed Services Committee is scheduled to mark-up its version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which may include a one-year funding extension for the controversial project.
The House Armed Services committee recently struck down languagethat would have allowed nearly $10 million authorization for the range to expire in September, 2025 — rather than its current expiration date in September, 2024.
Now Warren, in her role on the Senate Armed Services Committee, could either push for a funding extension, or move to strike it from the bill.
In a statement, she said she wants to see a federal environmental review of the project reach completion before funds are committed.
"My position has always been that we need to follow the science. The EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] is currently working to determine the environmental impact of a proposed machine gun range project at Camp Edwards -- a review that I requested to safeguard Cape Cod's sole-source aquifer,” she said.
“I oppose any effort to move forward with the gun range until the EPA reaches its final determination, including extending authorities in the annual defense policy bill."
The statement follows pressure from the Barnstable County Commissioners, who voted last week to send the Senator a letter. It urges her to ensure the funding extension request is not included in the final bill.
That pressure mounted when the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) — a vocal opponent of the range — urged thousands of its constituents to email Warren, themselves.
“It is critical,” an APCC email blast read, “that the Senator and her staff hear loud and clear from her Cape Cod constituents about the importance of protecting the Cape’s water supply.”
The Massachusetts Army National Guard has maintained they’ve satisfied every state and federal environmental review that’s been required, and that the range will not impair the aquifer.
