Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. HORSFORD. Thank you to the gen tle lady for yielding.
Mr. Chairman, I come to the floor today to support the amendment offered by my colleague, Congresswoman Dina Titus, from District One.
As she has so eloquently indicated and as I stand here today as the Representative who actually has Yucca Mountain in his district, first and foremost, we probably should start by pronouncing our State the way that people in Nevada say it, which is Nevada and not Nevada.
If we are going to screw Nevada by bringing nuclear waste and trying to store it in our State, we should start by recognizing that the people of Nevada hold dear to what is important to our State.
I oppose efforts to fund the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project. Any avenues for the activation of this project should be blocked. Potential funding for the storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain should be put to better use, whether it is to reduce our deficit or to fund other essential government programs.
Nuclear storage at Yucca Mountain is a failed and unworkable proposal. There are investments that we have made in Yucca Mountain already, as my colleague has said--some $15 billion--and we should find an appropriate alternative use for this site.
But as it stands, this is a project that has been flawed from the start, and it remains flawed today.
This isn't about one political party or another. Our State has worked across the aisle for decades, from our Governor, Brian Sandoval, who is a Republican, to Senator Dean Heller, to others.
So this is not a partisan issue, this is a states' rights issue, and the people of Nevada reject you storing your nuclear waste in our backyard.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
First, I want to commend you for your tireless efforts in fighting this dangerous storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. From your days as a leader as a State legislator to now as a Member of Congress, your unwavering commitment to this issue on behalf of the majority will of Nevadans who are opposed to dangerous storage of nuclear waste in our State--from our Governor, Republican Governor Brian Sandoval; our U.S. Senator, Republican Member, U.S. Senator Dean Heller; our majority leader, Senator Harry Reid--this is a State issue. The State is opposed to the storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. There are local counties that have different positions, but the State's position has been clear for decades that we do not want dangerous nuclear waste stored in our State.
Ultimately, this threatens our State's health and our safety. It hurts our State's economy, not just gaming, but other areas. With one accident, it could devastate southern Nevada. The stakes are too high for our State to gamble with.
While this is 90 miles away from Las Vegas, we have 40 million visitors that come to our community--2 million people that live there in southern Nevada. But we are a State that relies on tourism, and that industry would be destroyed by any complication with nuclear waste. People come to Vegas for the bright lights, not for radioactive glow.
Our State leaders will continue to fight together, Republicans and Democrats, in Nevada to make sure that Yucca Mountain remains scrapped, as it should be.
I want to thank again my colleague, the Representative from District One, for her tireless leadership on this issue.
I urge my colleagues to support this amendment that protects the majority will of Nevadans who have consistently opposed the storage of dangerous nuclear waste.
To my colleague from Illinois, I think if you would take the time to come and visit our community, talk to the small business owners, to the parents who are concerned about the transportation, of what this would mean on our highways and our roads, the threat that it could have to our schools and our local businesses, then maybe you would understand why there is near unanimous agreement that Yucca Mountain and the storage of nuclear waste is not right for Nevada.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source