Jim Inhofe: “Madam President, I respectfully disagree with what the Senator from Nevada said about the subsidy. The Federal…”

“Madam President, I respectfully disagree with what the Senator from Nevada said about the subsidy. The Federal Government does not use taxpayer money to pay claims in the event of a nuclear incident. There has been no subsidy in the 43 years of Price-Anderson protection. The nuclear insurance pool is not the Federal Government. It has paid a total of, I believe, $191 million in claims. The Price-Anderson Act ensures that full compensation will be available in the event of a nuclear attack. In the absence of the law, members of the public filing claims would need to overcome substantial obstacles of tort law for recovery. As we all know, that is very expensive and very time consuming. I think the key here is that no public funds have ever been paid out. For that reason, there is no way one can say this is a subsidized program.”