Rosen: White House Must Follow Through on President Trump's Words, Zero out Requests for Yucca Mountain Funding
Press Release
Today, Congresswoman Jacky Rosen (NV-03) responded to reports that Secretary of Energy Rick Perry confirmed the White House continues to support turning Yucca Mountain into the nation's nuclear waste repository. This comes after Congresswoman Rosen and U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto sent a letter to President Trump in response to his remarks in Elko, where he said he "would be very inclined to be against" turning Yucca Mountain into a nuclear waste dump. Rosen and Cortez Masto urged the President to follow through on his commitment by zeroing out funding for Yucca Mountain in his Fiscal Year 2020 Presidential Budget.
"These contradictory remarks from Secretary Perry underline why the White House must follow through on President Trump's words about supporting consent-based siting and commit to zeroing out funding for Yucca Mountain," said Rosen. "This Administration needs to keep its word and listen to Nevada families and businesses instead of Republican leaders in Washington intent on turning our state into a nuclear waste dumping ground. I'll continue fighting in every way I can to prevent this dangerous project from being revived and putting Nevadans at risk."
BACKGROUND: Earlier this year, Rosen successfully advocated against funding for Yucca Mountain in the final Fiscal Year 2018 omnibus. Rosen also recently introduced the Jobs, Not Waste Act to prohibit the Secretary of Energy from taking any action relating to the licensing, planning, development, or construction of a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain until the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) submits a study to Congress on the economic viability and job-creating benefits of alternative uses of the Yucca Mountain site. Last month, Rosen spoke at a Science Committee hearing about the need for nuclear energy researchers and industry to start looking at alternatives for nuclear waste storage and convinced panelists to support a consent-based approach, the very same approach President Trump seemed to endorse today. View video here.
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