Senator Scott's Response to the President's Budget Cuts to MOX

Press Release

"Make no mistake -- the MOX project has significant international implications, and we are once again seeing the effect of this administration's disjointed foreign policy decisions. With no clear alternative after more than a year of looking, the President has apparently chosen this critical time to signal to the international community we are willing to break an agreement with Russia to dispose of 68 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium -- half of which is located in Russia.

The administration is also breaking an agreement with the people of South Carolina, who agreed to host the MOX facility under the impression the nuclear material would be processed into usable fuel for commercial power reactors -- not sit in South Carolina indefinitely. The federal government could in fact have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines to the state if this project is not completed.

I remain committed to working with our congressional delegation and Energy Secretary Moniz to find the most cost-efficient path forward in order to meet our international obligations. While "delay' may be a favorite tactic of this administration when it finds itself in trouble, I won't sit around and wait."

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