Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in introducing the Nuclear Waste Administration Act, a bill to establish a national nuclear waste policy. This bipartisan legislation, which has been years in the making, is also cosponsored by Senators Maria Cantwell, Lisa Murkowski, and Lamar Alexander. This legislation represents our best attempt to establish a workable, long term nuclear waste policy for the United States, something our Nation lacks today. It does so by implementing the unanimous recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future. First, the bill would create a new independent entity, the Nuclear Waste Administration, with the sole purpose of managing nuclear waste. Second, the bill would authorize the siting and construction of two types of waste facilities: permanent repositories for disposal and interim facilities for storage, including a pilot facility prioritizing waste from shut down reactors. Third, the bill creates a consent-based siting process for both storage facilities and repositories, based on other countries' successful efforts. The legislation requires that local, tribal, and State governments must consent to host waste facilities by signing incentive agreements, assuring that waste is only stored in the States and communities that want and welcome it.…”