Alan Simpson: “I oppose this amendment. It is an interesting argument the gentlelady made. The House has repeatedly had overwhelming…”

“I oppose this amendment. It is an interesting argument the gentlelady made. The House has repeatedly had overwhelming votes in support of continuing the Yucca Mountain repository. The language that would be stricken by this amendment we have been carrying for years as a way to keep the will of the House and the American people alive. In fact, the votes supporting Yucca Mountain in this House have been overwhelming each time that we voted on it. I would remind the gentlelady that this doesn't mean that Yucca Mountain can never be closed. The comment of the gentleman from Illinois would still be true. An appropriation bill is a 1-year appropriation bill. That is why we carry this language in each appropriation bill. We need to wait for the safety review by the NRC to be done to decide what we are going to do moving forward, instead of political decisions that have been made on Yucca Mountain in the past. And it has been a political decision. I think even the gentlelady would agree with that. I urge my colleagues to vote against this amendment. I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus).”