[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 87 (Monday, July 10, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H5725-H5727]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NUCLEAR ENERGY CRISIS LOOMING
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, we all know what happens when we are too
reliant on foreign sources for oil; and, as a result, in my district in
southern Ohio and across this country, consumers are paying outrageous
prices for a gallon of gasoline.
But there is another energy crisis looming that many of us seem not
to be aware of. I think it is important for
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Members of this House and for citizens of this country to be aware of
the fact that 23 percent of our Nation's electricity is generated by
the use of nuclear power plants, and almost all of that fuel comes from
a domestic source.
Unfortunately, in July of 1998, the United States Enrichment
Corporation, which is the public corporation that was responsible for
operating the two existing uranium enrichment facilities in this
country, that corporation was privatized. Since privatization,
disasters have occurred.
The mining industry is on the verge of collapse. The conversion
industry, there is only one conversion plant in this country, and that
is in Metropolis, Illinois. It is on the verge of collapse. And just 2
weeks ago the United States Enrichment Corporation, the privatized
corporation, announced that they were closing one of our two enrichment
facilities, the one in my district in Piketon, Ohio; and within a year
some 1,800 to 2,000 workers will lose their jobs.
How did this disaster happen? Why are we on the verge of having to
depend upon foreign sources for perhaps 20 percent of our Nation's
electricity?
I have in my hand a waiver letter that was written by the chairman of
the Public Board, Mr. William Rainer; and in this letter he is
addressing the CEO of the Public Board, who is now the CEO of the
private corporation.
Mr. Rainer says to Mr. Timbers in this letter: ``As employees of a
wholly owned government corporation, you may not participate personally
or substantially in any particular matter that would have a direct and
predictable effect on your financial interests or those of others, such
as spouse.''
{time} 2145
However, Mr. Rainer granted Mr. Timbers this waiver, giving him
permission to advise the board on whether or not USEC should be
privatized, how it should be privatized, and the selection of the
individuals to serve on the new privatized board. What is the result?
Mr. Timbers went from making $350,000 as a government employee and
after the company was privatized, Mr. Timbers made $2.48 million.
Mr. Speaker, if that is not substantive, I do not know what is. This
is a sham and a farce, and this administration and this Congress have
an obligation to look into these matters. If someone who worked for the
government made $350,000, and then was given the privilege of making
decisions which had the benefit of enabling him to enrich himself and
then a year-and-a-half later ends up with a salary of $2.48 million,
then there is no sense in us having any prohibition on these kinds of
government employees being involved in matters that could enrich
themselves.
Mr. Speaker, I am asking this House, I am asking this administration
to come to their senses and to understand that we are facing a looming
crisis in this country. If this rogue corporation continues without any
prohibition, we find ourselves perhaps facing the demise of the
enrichment industry in this country and becoming completely dependent
on foreign sources for the essential fuel that is necessary to power
our nuclear plants which provide some 23 percent of all of the
electricity in this country.
Mr. Speaker, this is a serious matter. I am appreciative of the time
I have had to share this with my colleagues and with the country. I
will include for the Record at this time the letter I referred to
earlier in my remarks.
USEC,
Bethesda, MD, September 26, 1995.
Mr. William H. Timbers, Jr.,
President and Chief Executive Officer, United States
Enrichment Corporation, Bethesda, MD.
Dear Mr. Timbers: Under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 208(a), USEC
employees, as employees of a wholly owned Government
corporation, may not participate personally and substantially
in any particular matter that would have a direct and
predictable effect on their financial interests or those of
certain others, such as their spouses. Nevertheless, as
Chairman of the Corporation's Board of Directors, under 18
U.S.C. Sec. 208(b)(1) I may waive the prohibition of 18
U.S.C. Sec. 208(a) where I determine that the employee's
financial interest in the matter ``is not so substantial as
to be deemed likely to affect the integrity of the services
which the Government may expect'' from the employee.
On September 25, 1995, you provided me with a request for a
waiver under section 208(b)(1) to allow you to participate in
matters directed toward implementation of the ``Plan for the
Privatization of the United States Enrichment Corporation''
(Plan), presented to the President of the United States on
June 30, 1995, and effectuation of the Corporation's
privatization. Your request stated that such matters would
include, but not be limited to, providing advice and
recommendations to the Corporation's Board of Directors on
the following matters: the method that USEC should utilize in
privatizing, e.g., an IPO or an M&A transaction, the timing
of a privatization transaction, and whether any such
transaction would meet the requirements of section 1502(a) of
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; the selection of a
M&A buyer and the negotiation of a M&A transaction if a buyer
is selected; and the selection of individuals to be appointed
to serve on the board of the privatized corporation.
You presently are the President and Chief Executive Officer
of USEC. In your position, you are required to implement
resolutions adopted and approved by the Board of Directors
and to act on directions provided thereby, to abide by the
terms of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and of
other laws, as each relates to the Corporation, and to carry
out your duties as provided by the Corporation's By-laws. One
of the primary responsibilities of the Corporation is to
effectuate privatization through implementation of the Plan.
In your position as President and CEO, you are responsible
for overseeing day-to-day implementation, and ensuring the
successful realization, of this project. In carrying out your
privatization-related duties, including those matters
detailed in your waiver request as outlined above, your
financial interests in both your current Federal employment
and your future employment will be affected. They will be
affected by virtue of the privatization of USEC resulting
in the termination of your current Federal employment.
Moreover, matters relating to privatization also likely
will affect your interests in future employment by
structuring the possibilities for your employment with the
private successor to USEC. In turn, the financial
interests of the privatized entity may be imputed to you
under the statute if you have an arrangement regarding
future employment therewith. These effects on your current
and future employment interests give you a disqualifying
financial interest in privatization-related matters
undertaken by the Corporation.
Under the terms of section 208(b)(1), disqualifying
financial interest may be waived if the ``interest is not so
substantial as to be deemed likely to affect the integrity of
the services which the Government may expect'' from the
employee. In this instance, the particular matter of
privatization of the Corporation is not a project proposed by
you or another employee of the Corporation. It is a goal that
was placed with the Corporation by Congress. Therefore,
working to realize that goal is incumbent upon every employee
of the Corporation, although each will be personally affected
by the outcome. Without such effort by USEC employees,
privatization could not be realized. Given the effect that
privatization will have on the financial interests of each of
the officers of the Corporation, not just your own, it is not
feasible to delegate your participation in privatization-
related matters to a subordinate officer qualified to perform
such tasks. However, the openness of the privatization
process to the scrutiny of the USEC Board of Directors, the
U.S. Treasury as the sole shareholder of the Corporation, and
officials of the other Federal agencies will provide
additional assurance as to the integrity of the services
provided by each USEDC employee participating in the
privatization process.
Given these factors, and the scope of this waiver as
delineated herein, I do not find your disqualifying financial
interests to be so substantial as to be deemed likely to
affect the integrity of your services to the Government.
Pursuant to the foregoing analysis, I hereby grant a waiver
of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 208(a) with regard to your participation in
matters that would affect your financial interests, and those
imputed to you, as previously described in this memorandum.
Those financial interests, in light of the requirements
imposed upon the Corporation by the Act and the Plan, are not
so substantial as to be deemed likely to affect the integrity
of your services in these matters.
The scope of this waiver extends to those matters, within
your scope of authority and responsibility as President and
Chief Executive Officer of USEC, directed toward
implementation of the Plan and effectuation of the
privatization. This waiver, however, does not extend to; (i)
matters involving the determination of the terms and
conditions of the counterpart position in the privatized
corporation to that which you currently hold; or (ii) matters
involving the determination of whether the person holding
such position should be selected as a candidate for the board
of directors of the privatized corporation.
As the Corporation's privatization efforts proceed,
financial interests that conflict with your required duties,
that were not anticipated at the time this waiver was issued,
could arise. If at any time you have questions regarding the
scope of this waiver, you
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should seek guidance from the General Counsel. The USEC
General Counsel, on my behalf, has consulted with the Office
of Government Ethics on this waiver and will provide them a
copy of it.
Sincerely,
William J. Rainer,
Chairman, Board of Directors.
____________________