[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 20, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H1639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        YUCCA MOUNTAIN AND JOBS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise once again today in support of Yucca 
Mountain in Nye County, Nevada, which, by law, is designated as the 
site for a permanent geological repository for our Nation's spent 
nuclear fuel.
  Last year, the President's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's 
Nuclear Future issued a report, but barred even evaluating the merits 
of Yucca Mountain, despite the fact that it has been approved on a 
bipartisan basis by Congress and signed into law by the President, and 
actually reaffirmed by signing the law in 2002. The initial law was 
passed in 1982, and the law was amended in 1987, which, in a bipartisan 
manner, passed through both Chambers, signed by different Presidents, 
established that Yucca Mountain would be the repository for our nuclear 
spent fuel.
  What the Blue Ribbon Commission did say was any host community should 
expect incentives. That commitment is no different from Nevada when it 
comes to Yucca Mountain. And good news: the local county, Nye County, 
Nevada, is consenting and ready to negotiate with the Department of 
Energy.
  In advance of Yucca Mountain even receiving its first delivery, we 
will work with the State, Nye County, and surrounding communities to 
provide incentives to benefit the people of Nevada and their 
communities. We will address infrastructure needs, provide additional 
ground water monitoring, and build rail spurs, providing benefits 
outside of the Yucca Mountain project.
  As we look to make nuclear processing viable in the future, we can 
establish research dollars to universities in the State to be leaders 
in this field, and we will work to develop these and other ideas from 
State and local leaders to best fit their needs.
  This will mean thousands of direct or indirect jobs across the State 
of Nevada. Before any of these incentives are even discussed, we know 
from DOE in the past that the project would yield over 2,500 direct 
jobs on its own for more than 25 years under the current permit. Even 
after 50 years, as the project winds down, there would still be more 
than 500 direct jobs.

                              {time}  1040

  Construction of a rail spur could require an additional 1,000 workers 
and 300 permanent jobs for decades to come. All told, with indirect 
jobs and the project alone, conservative estimates project 7,000 new 
jobs in Nevada, not even counting those associated with other 
incentives we in Congress are prepared to work with the State and local 
communities to pursue.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to move forward on finishing the licensing 
application on Yucca Mountain, as required by law. Let the science 
speak for itself that says Yucca Mountain meets a million-year safety 
standard so it can serve as a national asset that develops thousands of 
badly needed jobs in Nevada's struggling economy.

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