Alan Simpson: “I understand the lady's passion for this, but some of the rhetoric, quite frankly, isn't accurate. When she calls it a…”

“I understand the lady's passion for this, but some of the rhetoric, quite frankly, isn't accurate. When she calls it a failed policy, it is only a failed policy politically because this administration came into office on a promise of not doing Yucca Mountain because they needed electoral votes from the State of Nevada. That is the reality. The fact is we have spent over $15 billion on this project, and the fact is it is the law of the land. Until you change that law of the land, it remains the law of the land. Whether it is safe or not, I don't know. I am not a scientist. But what I do know is there has been 52--I think it is 52--National Academy of Sciences studies on all sorts of aspects. This is the most studied piece of earth on the Earth. In fact, I have suggested during a hearing with the Department that if we ultimately decide not to do Yucca Mountain, they shouldn't close that down because they are going to need a space that big to put all the papers from the studies that we have done on Yucca Mountain. That is the reality. I think we all understand my colleague's opposition to Yucca Mountain. I don't blame her. I know she is from Nevada. But I can't support this amendment. This amendment would eliminate $150 million in the bill for the Department of Energy to reorganize its adjudicatory response team and get the Yucca Mountain licensing process back up and running.…”