Sam Gibbons: “a letter circulated around Capitol Hill yesterday boasts that passing H.R. 1270 will save money. Mr. Speaker, if it were…”

“a letter circulated around Capitol Hill yesterday boasts that passing H.R. 1270 will save money. Mr. Speaker, if it were not for the severity of this issue, this letter would be laughable. This is yet another example of the nuclear industry distorting the truth. The truth is that H.R. 1270 will cost the American taxpayers $1.5 billion, that is with a ``B,'' over the next 5 years. Contrast this with the cost of onsite storage and the taxpayers will save, even then, close to $1 billion over the next 5 years. Rather than have high level nuclear waste transported through communities across this country, we could use this money to decrease the deficit, provide more tax relief for the American taxpayers, improve our roads, hire more teachers, or put more police officers on the street. I urge my colleagues to get the facts. Do not be fooled by the nuclear industry. This is a bad bill. It is a bad bill for all Americans. Oppose H.R. 1270.”