Political Quotes

“I share the environmentalists' goal of trying to reduce the emissions of these fossil-fired plants. We also have in the Tennessee Valley Authority region five nuclear reactors on-line. They happen to be the most economically efficient generators of electricity in the TVA system. They are the most environmentally responsible and clean sources of electricity in the region. There is only one hurdle in our way of having a clean, safe alternative to the fossil-fired problem, and that is this waste issue. This administration, to its credit, has the guts to step up and do what is necessary to provide the alternative. I would say to my friends who protest dirty air and then protest Yucca Mountain, you cannot have it both ways. You cannot eliminate the alternative and then complain about fossil emissions. You cannot do it unless you want our country to be totally dependent on the rest of the world for our energy sources, and we know that sacrifices our freedom. Mr. Speaker, we have got to do the right thing. I appreciate the parochial eloquence, defending your own turf, but for the good of our Nation we have got to place this nuclear waste in a safe repository.”