Political Quotes

“First of all, I want to thank the chairman on the Subcommittee on Environment, Mr. Shimkus, whose, I think, life's work is on the floor today in many respects. Nobody has been more tenacious in this effort to get permanent, safe, and secure nuclear waste storage for America than John Shimkus, and so I thank Mr. Shimkus for his good work there. The bill we are considering today reinforces the promise that the United States Congress, on behalf of the Federal Government, made to our constituents a generation ago. Today, we are keeping that promise. We will accept responsibility for and properly dispose of radioactive waste. This is long overdue. Americans across the country, from Maine to southern California, from Florida to the Pacific Northwest, are watching today, and they are expecting us to act. The Department of Energy's Hanford site is just up the mighty Columbia River from where I live and where I grew up. That area and those workers helped us win World War II, and the site's nuclear program was instrumental in projecting peace through strength throughout the Cold War. While the community has been a constructive partner in support of our vital national security missions, it did not agree to serve as a perpetual storage site for the resulting nuclear waste. Fifty-six million gallons of toxic waste sitting in decades-old metal tanks at Hanford--these are those tanks that were being constructed to hold this waste. They are now buried in the ground.…”