Political Quotes

“The legislation before us directs $150 million to be spent on ``activities related to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.'' For my constituents in southern Nevada, we know that that is code for ``build the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.'' After decades of losing time and over $15 billion having been squandered on this boondoggle, the current administration has rightly said it is time for a new strategy. Our colleagues in the Senate understand this need to turn the page, which is why Senators Wyden and Murkowski introduced bipartisan legislation that creates a new system for the disposal of the Nation's nuclear waste. Unfortunately, some in this body still believe that we should force nuclear waste that has been created in their districts on a region that does not have a single nuclear power plant. What started decades ago as a law authorizing the study and the selection of two geological depositories suitable for the permanent storage of spent nuclear fuel has now transformed into politics at its worst. With the passage of the ``screw Nevada'' bill in 1987, which designated Yucca Mountain as the sole repository for the Nation's nuclear waste prior to the completion of adequate scientific evaluation, the goal shifted from how to find the best site for storage to how to force Nevada to take all of this waste--science and common sense be damned.…”