NEW! U.S. House moves to block Carson expansion

The United States House voted overwhelmingly today to block expansion of the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site with 383 lawmakers saying the Army cannot spend money to even study adding 450 square miles to the training area.

The rebuke for Fort Carson planners came after two Colorado Congress members offered the expansion-stopping measure as an amendment to a military construction spending bill.

Reps. Marilyn Musgrave and John Salazar made impassioned speeches accusing the Army of plotting to seize large tracts of southeast Colorado and threatening to destroy the ranching economy there.

The amendment passed despite opposition by some Democratic Party leaders in the chamber.

“You might as well cross southeast Colorado off the map if this expansion goes forward,” Musgrave, a Republican from Fort Morgan, warned during a speech that played live on CSPAN.

On the losing side were Colorado Springs Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn and his unlikely ally, Rep. Chet Edwards, a Texas Democrat who heads a committee that oversees military construction spending.

Edwards said the Army needs to study expansion because of growth at Fort Carson.

“I think we could seriously impact the training of forces in this critical time,” Edwards said.

Lamborn was more animated in his defense of expansion, saying the measure by Musgrave and Salazar would bring “serious consequences.”

He said the Army needs more land because soldiers now face far-flung battlefields.

“While Army units have gotten smaller, the battlefield has gotten larger,” he said.

For the expansion to go forward, it will likely need strong backing from both of the state’s U.S. senators, who have been lukewarm to the Army plan.

Republican Sen. Wayne Allard wasn’t available for comment today. In the past he’s expressed support for studying expansion, but hasn’t taken a position on the expansion plan.

Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar has the same rural roots as his brother who sponsored the house measure, but he’s said he’s willing to examine expansion plans.

Ranchers throughout southeast Colorado have whipped up opposition to the expansion plan since Army desires became known early last year. They’ve packed public meetings and triggered a vote of support from the state Legislature.

The 235,000 acre training site is 150 miles southeast of Colorado Springs in the heart of rural ranching country where many remain upset over land seizures in the early 1980s when the government acquired the site.