Rodney Frelinghuysen: “I rise in opposition to Mr. Udall's Amendment. Last year I voted to endorse the Department of Energy and the President's…”

“I rise in opposition to Mr. Udall's Amendment. Last year I voted to endorse the Department of Energy and the President's finding that Yucca Mountain is the best choice for a national nuclear waste depository. Science and safety illustrate that Yucca Mountain is in our Nation's interest. National security further illustrates that Yucca Mountain is in our Nation's interest. As such, Chairman Hobson has rightly made funding the Nuclear Waste Program one of his highest energy priorities. The Chairman's mark provides a total of $765 million for nuclear waste disposal, an increase of $174 million over the budget request and $308 million more than fiscal year 2003. These additional funds are provided to enable the Department to open the Yucca Mountain repository on schedule in 2010, with particular emphasis in developing a rail line in Nevada that avoids the Las Vegas metropolitan area. From a New Jersey perspective this site is long over due. We live in the most densely populated state in the nation, with 49 percent of our power generated by nuclear energy and for many years now, those wastes have been stored on the grounds of our two nuclear reactor sites.”