Ed Markey: “Mr. Chairman, we are at a very bad point right now. There was at least at the beginning of the discussion of the…”

“Mr. Chairman, we are at a very bad point right now. There was at least at the beginning of the discussion of the disposal of all nuclear wastes in the United States some integrity in the process back in 1982. We set out to find the site, east of the Mississippi, west of the Mississippi, wherever it may be. But in 1987, we came back here to Congress, and many people were very upset about what was going on. They might have been pro nuclear, but they did not want the waste in their district. So we passed another bill in 1987. What did we say? Well, the Chairman of the House then came from Texas. He said, 'I don't want it in Texas.' That was one of the sites. The second site was in Washington State. The majority leader came from Washington State. He said, 'I don't want it in Washington State.' It was out. The third State was the salt domes in Louisiana. The Chairman of the Committee on Energy came from Louisiana. He said, 'I don't want it in Louisiana,' and it was out. The fourth site was in North Carolina. The ranking Republican on the Committee on Commerce came from North Carolina. North Carolina was out.…”