[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6775]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  NUCLEAR POWER INDUSTRY SHOULD PAY THE COSTS OF MOVING NUCLEAR WASTE

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Madam Speaker, there is going to be a $2.3 billion price 
tag for transporting nuclear waste across America. I guess the question 
should be, and the one we should be asking is, should it be the 
responsibility of the nuclear power industry who, by the way, created 
and profited from nuclear energy, or should this price tag be picked up 
by the American taxpayer?
  Well, legislation now pending before the House will force taxpayers 
to pick up the tab, all $2.3 billion, for moving this lethal garbage 
through their neighborhoods and through their communities. On top of 
that, this legislation would also use American tax dollars to pay for 
the storage of nuclear waste.
  I think most Americans would agree that the cost of transporting and 
storing these hazardous materials should not have to be paid by 
innocent American taxpayers. Rather, it should be paid by those 
responsible: The nuclear power industry.
  Madam Speaker, let us save Americans' hard-earned tax dollars and 
return the responsibility of waste to the power companies who created 
the problem.
  Oppose H.R. 45. I yield back the balance of my time and what little 
money is left in the pockets of the American people.

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