[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 14 (Thursday, February 14, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S840-S841]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             YUCCA MOUNTAIN

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, today the Secretary of Energy recommended to 
the President that Yucca Mountain, Nevada should be the site for 
storing all of America's nuclear waste, all 70,000 tons. This 
recommendation came despite the objections of all the credible 
independent experts who have reviewed the project. I will name just few 
of them. There are many others, but the credibility of those I will 
name cannot be refuted. These experts all say that the science is not 
sound.
  The General Accounting Office is the watchdog of Congress and the 
watchdog for the American people. The GAO has been an important part of 
our Government for many decades and is noted for its independence and 
veracity. The General Accounting Office has stated that making a 
decision now regarding the Yucca Mountain project is neither 
``prudent'' nor ``practical.'' That is pretty direct.
  The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board is an independent agency 
established to review what is going on with nuclear waste from a 
technical standpoint. It is chaired by the former dean of the Forestry 
School at Yale University, who is now the president of Carnegie-Mellon 
in Pennsylvania and is one of the foremost scientists in America. The 
Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board says that the scientific review 
that has been conducted at Yucca Mountain is ``weak.'' That is pretty 
direct.
  The Inspector General of the Department of Energy stated that because 
the law firm giving advice to the Secretary of Energy on Yucca 
Mountain, Winston and Strawn, was the same law firm that was giving 
legal advice to the Nuclear Energy Institute, the umbrella for the 
nuclear utilities in this country, there was a clear conflict of 
interest. That too is pretty direct.
  No one can challenge the credibility of this all-star team of 
independent experts: The Inspector General, the General Accounting 
Office, the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. No one can challenge 
their credibility.
  Secretary Abraham has made a hasty, poor, and really indefensible 
decision. Now the question of whether a high-level nuclear waste dump 
will be built in Nevada lies with the President of the United States.
  It is time for President Bush to fulfill the commitment he made to 
the people of Nevada and to the country; that is, that he would not 
allow nuclear waste to come to Yucca Mountain unless there was sound 
science justifying such a decision.
  The General Accounting Office, the Nuclear Waste Technical Review 
Board, and the Inspector General have all said that science does not 
exist.
  The President should demand sound science--peer-reviewed scientific 
evidence of the highest caliber--and wait

[[Page S841]]

until he receives it before making a decision about Yucca Mountain. The 
President has the responsibility and the authority to fulfill the 
promise he made to this Nation as a candidate regarding nuclear waste.
  I urge President Bush to exercise that authority and show the Nation 
he is a man of his word. We are depending on him.
  Mr. President, this visual aid represents the proposed routes that 
trucks and trains would travel to Nevada carrying 70,000 tons of toxic 
material. One hundred thousand truckloads of nuclear waste will be 
hauled on these roads. And 20,000 trainloads of nuclear waste will be 
hauled along the railways we see here on this map.
  The Department of Energy has refused to do an environmental impact 
statement assessing the effects of transporting all of this deadly 
material. Why? Because they cannot explain how it would be possible to 
safely haul 70,000 tons of nuclear waste over the highways and railways 
of this country.
  Since September 11, we know that terrorists are waiting for targets 
of opportunity. We know now not only that they are waiting for targets 
of opportunity but also that they are capable of hitting their targets. 
The tragic events of September 11 demonstrated that in such a dramatic 
fashion. It would be reckless and dangerous to provide terrorists with 
more than a hundred thousand additional targets, which the trucks and 
trains carrying nuclear waste would become.
  So, Mr. President, I say to you, and the rest of America, we are 
depending on the President of the United States, George W. Bush, to be 
a man of his word and not allow nuclear waste to travel across this 
country until there is sound science. There is not sound science, as 
separate reports prepared by the General Accounting Office, the 
Inspector General of the Department of Energy, and, of course, also by 
the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board all make clear.
  The President should wait until he has credible evidence and a sound 
scientific basis to support a plan for storing nuclear waste at Yucca 
Mountain and allowing it to travel across the country.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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