John Ensign: “Mr. Chairman, this is clearly about States' rights and the tenth amendment. This is not a national security issue, as…”

“Mr. Chairman, this is clearly about States' rights and the tenth amendment. This is not a national security issue, as some people have said it was. We have had nuclear waste at these facilities for decades. If it was a national security issue now, it would certainly have been a national security issue then, and it will be in the future then, because we are not taking all the nuclear waste from these facilities. It will continue to exist in the district of the gentleman from Michigan, in the district of the gentleman from Illinois, and on and on. Nuclear waste will still be in their districts. They will not have as much of it, but they will have it. What the amendment of the gentleman from Nevada does is says that the Governor, who is the closest representative to a State and is aware of what is happening in their State and knows best, would say that these emergency response teams have to exist and be properly trained before nuclear waste can come through their State.”