Nuclear Waste

Floor Speech

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to discuss an issue that I think very few people in America are aware of. It relates to the very important topic of nuclear waste and the impact that that has upon our Federal policy and its effect on our energy needs and our Federal debt.

Most Americans support nuclear power as a major source of our electricity. Today it provides 20 percent of all the electricity produced in America. Now, we know that over the next 15 or 20 years our demand for electricity is going to double what it is today. I might also remind everyone that coal is providing 51 percent of all the electricity produced in America. As I said, nuclear power provides about 20 percent.

The administration and many people are focused on alternative forms of energy, particularly solar and wind power. Now, all of the experts will tell you that while, yes, some energy can be produced from solar and wind power, it will never come close to meeting the demands of the American people in energy.

I might add on the nuclear power front, today in America we have 109 nuclear power plants located in 39 States across the country. At each one of those sites nuclear waste is being stored today. It does have a major impact on our environment, it has major concerns for security, and it has major costs for the American people.

The solution that Congress came up with many years ago was to build Yucca Mountain as a deep repository to store this waste indefinitely. Now, unfortunately last week President Obama withdrew the license application for a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. This application was before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to look at from a scientific standpoint of could this repository at Yucca Mountain safely take care of this waste for the American people for hundreds of years in the future? And I might also add that the American taxpayer has already spent billions of dollars trying to build this repository at Yucca Mountain.

Well, not only did President Obama jerk back the application so that it cannot be considered anymore, but now the Department of Energy is asking the Appropriations Committee for approval to reprogram all of the money that was going to Yucca Mountain in 2010, which in essence would stop all movement in the development of Yucca Mountain and the solution for storage of this high-level waste.

So the question that I would have for President Obama and his administration today is this. Very simply, what are we going to do with all of the waste currently being stored at the 109 nuclear sites around the Nation? Now, the President has appointed a blue panel commission to come up with a solution to this problem. As I said, we have already spent billions of dollars on Yucca Mountain. In fact, in the very near future it was getting ready to open.

Why is it important as to what are we going to do with this nuclear waste that is stored at these 109 sites around the country? It is important for this reason. Number one, in 1982 Congress passed the Nuclear Policy Waste Act. It in essence said that the Federal Government was going to be responsible for taking care of this. Well, as a result of the policies we have adopted so far today, here is our situation. The utility companies who are now depending upon the Federal Government to store this waste for them are now filing lawsuits against the Federal Government, and have already obtained judgments in excess of $11 billion against the Federal Government. Experts are saying that additional lawsuits will cost the Federal Government $56 billion.

I want to raise this issue with the American people and make them aware that this decision on Yucca Mountain not only is a security issue for America, but it also is a costly decision for the American taxpayer at a time when we already have a Federal debt of $14 trillion.

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss a very important topic facing our nation--Nuclear Waste and the impact our Federal Policy on this issue will have on our energy needs and our Federal Debt.

I support nuclear power as a major source of electricity for our nation, which currently accounts for twenty percent of our electricity supply.

In Kentucky, we do not have any nuclear power although some of my District receives electricity from the Tennessee Valley Authority, which does have nuclear power plants. Of course, Kentucky is not uninvolved with nuclear power because in Paducah, Kentucky the gaseous diffusion plant enriches all the uranium for reactors around the nation.

Today, we have 109 nuclear power plants in the United States in 39 states across the country. At each one of these sites, nuclear waste is being stored that creates a major environmental security and economic challenge for our nation.

Mr. Speaker, the solution that was being proposed was to build Yucca Mountain as a deep repository to store the waste indefinitely. However, last week President Obama withdrew the license application for a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain with prejudice.

Additionally, the Department of Energy asked the Appropriations Committee for approval to reprogram the money from the project for Fiscal Year 2010, essentially stopping all movement on the project.

I might also add that there was an article in Energy Daily today where the former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the Obama Administration's decision to terminate the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository does not appear to be based on ``factual findings'' and its ``unfortunate'' handling of the issue will delay resolution of the nation's nuclear waste disposal problems for years.

Some have said that President Obama is pushing forward with Nuclear Power because of the loan guarantee money he has proposed for building nuclear plants.

My question to the President is--What do we do with all the waste currently being stored at the 109 nuclear sites around the nation? This blue label commission the President has created is going to take years to develop a process and a path forward, when we've already spent billions of dollars and many years developing a state of the art facility that could accept waste in the next few years.

Because the government's plan was to take care of the material after the Yucca Mountain facility was completed, the utility companies paid the federal government to care for this waste, but as a result of the government's failure to take the waste, the utilities have recently been filing lawsuits against the government to recoup costs associated with having to store the waste at their own plant sites.

Additionally, two attorney generals--Washington State and North Carolina--have filed lawsuits against the federal government.

A number of court cases have ruled that the Department of Energy is liable for the cost of keeping the waste because of a breach of contract. How much is at stake is anyone's guess, but the industry has put the number as high as $56 billion.

Nuclear power is essential to our energy portfolio, which at this point in time is very important to Americans. We simply cannot afford to do without nuclear power.

I urge the House of Representatives to tell President Obama to stop playing politics with out nation's energy future and finish Yucca Mountain to ensure that Nuclear Power continues to create jobs and provide electricity.

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