Political Quotes

“I rise this evening to inform the House that I am introducing a major piece of legislation which would make it possible for this Government to once again assume the ownership of the nuclear fuel production industry in this country. The act is entitled the Nuclear Fuel Reliability Act of 2000. Why is this legislation necessary? I think it is important for this House to understand that approximately 2 years ago actions were taken that for the first time privatized the industry which is responsible for enriching uranium in this country. What that means, in practical terms, is that the industry that is responsible for producing approximately 20 percent of all of the electricity that is generated in this country has been placed in private hands. Now, that may not be so bad if the company that became the owner of this industry had acted responsibly and had kept faith with this Government once privatization had occurred. One of the obligations placed upon the private company was to operate the two enrichment plants which exist in this country today, one in Paducah, Kentucky, and one in Piketon, Ohio, to operate those plants through the year 2004. Recently, the company has made the decision to close the Piketon, Ohio, plant in June of next year. Who has benefited from privatization, Mr. Speaker? I think the only ones who have benefited from privatization are those select few individuals who oversaw the privatization process and have enriched themselves.”