[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3248]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        OPPOSE H.R. 45 TO PROTECT HEALTH AND SAFETY OF CITIZENS

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 45, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 
1999, opens the door to the dangerous transportation of high-level 
nuclear waste and yet fails to address the concerns of the safety of 
millions of Americans.
  By mandating the construction of an interim storage facility in 
Nevada, H.R. 45 would require the shipment of the most toxic substance 
known to man to go through 43 States. Fifty million Americans within a 
half mile of the transportation routes could be exposed to the deadly 
hazards of 77,000 tons of nuclear waste moving through their 
neighborhoods for the next 30 years.
  H.R. 45 does nothing to address the weakness in the design of the 
waste caskets. It does nothing to fund the training of emergency 
personnel who would be required to respond to any accidents. H.R. 45 is 
the ``speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil'' effort by the nuclear 
power industry to pull the wool over the eyes of Americans.
  We must protect our constituents, their health and their safety and 
oppose H.R. 45.

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