Political Quotes

“I thank my good friend, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse) for yielding me the customary 30 minutes for debate. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to debate the rule for consideration of this measure, H.R. 3053. As my good friend alluded to, this legislation has bipartisan support and takes an important step towards permanently securing nuclear waste in our country. {time} 1230 Thirty-six years ago, Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. In doing so, this institution created a formal process for constructing a permanent geological repository for the growing amount of nuclear waste across our country. This particular provision established a scientifically based, multistage process for selecting an eventual site of permanent storage for highly radioactive nuclear waste, delineated the Federal Government's responsibilities for the transportation of spent nuclear fuel, and created a dedicated funding source for disposing of nuclear material. Five years after passing the NWPA and following significant congressional review of the Department of Energy studies, it was determined that the facility be built at Yucca Mountain. However, after many subsequent years of planning, licensing, and construction, the project has stalled--at a cost of tens of billions of dollars. The question of how to dispose of spent nuclear fuel and nuclear waste has been an ongoing problem in our country for decades.…”