William Bryan: “I want to make a point one more time on the issue of transportation. This has often been characterized as an issue of…”

“I want to make a point one more time on the issue of transportation. This has often been characterized as an issue of Nevada versus the entire country. As more and more people around the country are aware of the implications for their families and their own security in terms of health and safety, we are beginning to get the attention of the public. Just this past week, the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, UT, strongly supported the President's veto. That publication does not have a long track record of being supportive of this administration and particularly this President. But it indicates the nature of the concern. Here again, take a look at the routes that are involved in the transportation. This will occur around the clock for 25 to 30 years: 30,000 to 100,000 shipments. It is said that, gee, we have had transports before and nothing has happened. That is true; we have had no fatalities as a result, but we have had 58 accidents. I suppose before the disaster of the Challenger we could talk proudly about our space program and the shuttle launches that never had a fatality. It is not a question of what the history has been as to whether or not there has been a fatality. We are talking about something of a magnitude many times greater, and I think our colleagues must look at that. There are many States--43 States and 51 million Americans. But it has been said repeatedly that we have to do something. The deadline has been missed, there is no question.”