Ed Whitfield: “I support the fiscal year 2002 energy and water development appropriation measure. Mr. Chairman, I genuinely appreciate…”

“I support the fiscal year 2002 energy and water development appropriation measure. Mr. Chairman, I genuinely appreciate the subcommittee's continued support of the Kentucky Lock Addition and Olmsted Locks, which help transport waterborne commerce to more than 23 States and for reinstating funding for the annual dredge work at Kentucky's only port on the Mississippi River, the Elvis Star Harbor in Hickman, Kentucky. In particular, I want to thank the subcommittee for agreeing to our request to increase funding for environmental cleanup at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The $10 million increase the subcommittee provided is desperately needed to help combat the myriad of environmental programs and problems stemming from over 50 years of enriched uranium production at that site. These funds, along with the monies the subcommittee has provided for cylinder maintenance and the construction of an on-site low-level waste disposal cell, will keep us on a steady path towards a safer workplace and a safer community. Mr. Chairman, the employees at the plant and the citizens living and working in the area adjacent to the plant deserve no less.”