Lindsey Graham: “I say to Senator Allard, he has been a very responsible subcommittee chairman here. This is a big deal for the country…”

“I say to Senator Allard, he has been a very responsible subcommittee chairman here. This is a big deal for the country, to South Carolina, Idaho, and Washington, and any other State. It is a huge deal. We need to make sure these sites are remediated and the environment of each State is protected and that we get on with it and not give DOE unilateral authority to tell us what to do, and do it in a collaborative way. We have achieved that in South Carolina. I think it would be inappropriate if Washington or Idaho could reach an agreement between DOE, and Idaho and Washington ran it by the NRC and they say, yes, we like this agreement, we think it protects us, we would like to do it, and then somebody else says no, or they make up a reason of telling us no, which would prevent this from ever happening. Now, we are going to disagree over some aspects of this. But here is where we do not disagree. The States are going to get the money, whether or not they reach an agreement with DOE. We are not going to let them do it unilaterally. We want to make sure every State has a right to negotiate an agreement on their own terms. There is nothing in this amendment that is going to prejudice another State in terms of their ability to reach an agreement with DOE on their terms, if they can. I think this is a very important concept. This is a pivotal time in our effort to clean up these sites.”