Harry Reid
is opposed to the Yucca Mountain Project. There is no question that Vice
President Cheney met on several occasions with nuclear power executives,
said Senator Reid. Cheney needs to stop hiding the truth. He should tell
the public which executives he met with, and when he met with them.
Shortly after energy executives
met with Vice President Cheney, the Administration began to systematically pursue
a nuclear energy policy contrary to promises made by then Governor Bush during
the 2000 presidential campaign. George W. Bush declared while campaigning in
Nevada in May of 2000; I
believe sound science, not politics, must prevail in the designation of any
high-level nuclear waste repository. As President, I would not sign legislation
that would send nuclear waste to any proposed site unless its been deemed
scientifically safe. President Bush broke his promise two weeks ago by
approving a plan put forward by the Department of Energy to store the nations
nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, NV despite the lack of scientific evidence
supporting such a decision.
The GAO, the Inspector General of the Department of Energy, the Inspector General
of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Nuclear Waste Technical Review
Board have raised concerns about conflicts of interest, poor scientific standards
and an unsafe and unnecessary rush to approve the Yucca Mountain project. Senator
Reid believes the Presidents decision has been based on politics alone,
ignores hundreds of ongoing scientific experiments, and threatens American lives.
The Presidents plan calls for roughly 100,000 nuclear waste shipments
to travel on American roads and rails by the end of the decade.