[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 81 (Friday, June 23, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H5077-H5078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        PRIVATIZATION OF ENRICHMENT INDUSTRY SHOULD BE REVERSED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, I would like to share with my colleagues 
a sad and tragic headline from the Columbus Dispatch of yesterday. It 
is a headline that reads, ``Piketon Plant to Close,'' and the 
subheading says, ``2000 workers will lose jobs because of the 
shutdown.'' Then they say, ``Less than 2 years ago, the United States 
Enrichment Corporation vowed to keep the Piketon plant and a sister 
facility in Paducah, Kentucky open until the year 2005.'' This is the 
plant that employs 2000 southern Ohio men and women.
  This industry was privatized less than 2 years ago, and at the time 
of the privatization, they accepted an obligation, an obligation to 
operate both the Paducah and the Piketon sites through the year 2004. 
The day before yesterday, flying in the face of a recommendation from 
the Department of Treasury and from a strongly worded request from 
Secretary Richardson, the CEO of this company and the board of 
directors voted to close this facility. Mr. Nick Timbers, a person that 
I appropriately refer to as ``Slick Nick'' Timbers, was quoted in The 
Washington Post as saying, ``It had to be done. It is the reason 
Congress privatized the company.'' For Mr. Timbers to utter such a 
statement is sheer hypocrisy. It shows that this man cannot be trusted 
or believed. He, as the CEO of this company, accepted an obligation, an 
obligation entered into through a legal agreement with the Department 
of Treasury, and he has broken that agreement.
  In response to my criticism and the criticism of Senator Voinovich 
and Senator DeWine from Ohio and others, Mr. Timbers was quoted in an 
AP story yesterday as saying, ``Politicians should stop all this old, 
tiring finger pointing.''
  This is a man who negotiated through his own maneuverings a $3.6 
million golden parachute. If he is relieved of his job, he walks away 
with $3.6 million and yet, he is willing to lay off thousands of hard-
working Americans without giving them due consideration.
  Mr. Speaker, privatization of our enrichment industry was an unwise 
decision. That is why next week I plan to introduce legislation to have 
the Government renationalize this vital industry. It provides 23 
percent of the electricity output in this Nation, and this privatized 
company is destroying not only the enrichment industry, but the mining 
industry and the conversion industry as well.
  Mr. Speaker, if we are not careful, if we as a Congress do not take 
appropriate and immediate action, it is possible that 3 or 4 or 5 years 
from now, this country could find itself totally dependent on foreign 
sources for 23 percent of our Nation's electricity. We know what 
dependency on foreign sources for oil does to prices. We know what 
gasoline is selling for today. Can we imagine how we could be brought 
to our knees if we were totally dependent

[[Page H5078]]

on Russia or other countries to provide us with the vital fuel that it 
takes to operate our nuclear power plants.
  I do not know where the Vice President is today, but I hope he is 
watching C-SPAN. I do not know what the Secretary of the Treasury is 
doing today, but I hope he is watching C-SPAN. These individuals and 
others have an obligation to protect this Nation and to keep their word 
to these communities. I fought privatization and I lost that battle, 
and as a result, we find ourselves in these dreadful circumstances. But 
it is imperative that the Congress pay attention to this matter. We 
cannot let this situation continue as it is.
  People who are a lot smarter and better well-informed than I am say 
that we ought to repurchase this industry and, thereby, protect the 
energy security and the future of this Nation.

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