Political Quotes

“Thomas Jefferson said: ``Laws and institutions must go hand-in-hand with the progress of the human mind.'' As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. Almost 30 years have elapsed since this Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act; and over that time, technology and scientific knowledge have evolved and, indeed, new discoveries made, truths discovered, and opinions changed. But for some reason, Congress still clings to technology from a bygone era to address today's nuclear waste issues. The fact is, sticking our country's nuclear waste in a hole in the ground for long-term storage is a 20th-century solution. Instead, we should encourage the use of a 21st-century technology. My amendment redirects money from the nuclear waste fund and designated from Yucca Mountain licensing and waste storage into the development of a 21st-century solution, a fuel recycling and accelerated transmutation program. This program would significantly reduce the toxicity of nuclear waste and retrieve additional energy from the material through radio chemistry and subcritical transmutation using accelerator technology.…”