Political Quotes

“this Ensign amendment would require that the Department of Energy undertake a risk assessment before it takes any action under the act. The amendment would stop the nuclear waste program in its tracks and would prevent the Department of Energy from taking any action for years. It would guarantee that all nuclear waste in this country stays right where it is, spread out all over the country, rather than going to one safe site. I would say, too, that the risk assessments required by the Ensign amendment are in addition to the requirements that the Department of Energy prepare EIS, environmental impact statements, before major actions. Under this amendment the DOE would have to perform a risk assessment and prepare an environmental impact statement. There is no need for the risk assessment required by this amendment. The Department of Energy nuclear waste program is probably the most closely scrutinized Federal program created. There is layer after layer of oversight. The State of Nevada oversees the program, as does the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. All of this oversight is funded by consumers, and this would be viewed as a killer amendment. I would urge my colleagues to vote 'no.'”