Mike Crapo: “I want to weigh in on this issue and try to bring clarity to what it comes down to. As has been said by virtually every…”

“I want to weigh in on this issue and try to bring clarity to what it comes down to. As has been said by virtually every speaker today, this issue was caused as a result of the outcome of a lawsuit in Idaho with regard to the authority and jurisdiction and prerogatives of the Department of Energy in managing high-level waste as a result of reprocessing. When the court case came down the way it did, it threw into question the manner in which the Department of Energy would proceed with its cleanup operations in three States--Washington, Idaho, and South Carolina. There are people on all sides of that issue. Some say it is clear what they have to do. There are those who say it is unclear. There are those who say we can find clarity if we take some time to work it through between the States and the DOE. The bottom line is there was an issue. As a result of this issue, the question of funding availability for the ongoing cleanup became paramount. It was the DOE's position, as taken by the Office of Management and Budget, that if we didn't have a clear path forward on these cleanups, approximately $350 million that would have been available and was authorized and appropriated for cleanup in these three States would not be available in the next year.”