HANFORD: Senator Murray's Amendment for Increased Funding for Hanford Nuclear Site Passes Senate Budget Committee

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Budget Committee, introduced an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget to allow for increased funding for the Department of Energy's nuclear waste cleanup program, including the Hanford site in central Washington. The amendment would establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation to increase nuclear waste cleanup across the country. The amendment passed by voice vote with bipartisan support, including Republican Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) added as cosponsors.

The President's Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Request provides a $5.8 billion national budget for Environmental Management priorities across the country which is $200 million more than the budget proposal last year. However, this request is still $43 million below what Congress approved in the FY15 Omnibus Appropriations bill, which unfortunately would cut funding at 9 of the 16 nuclear waste cleanup sites around the country -- including a $93 million cut to Richland Operations.

"Cleaning up the Hanford site is one of our state's top environmental priorities, and I have been crystal clear with my expectation that the federal government meet its milestones at nuclear waste cleanup sites." said Senator Patty Murray. "And the Administration -- under both Democratic and Republican control -- has consistently failed to meet this threshold."

Hanford represents two of the sixteen nuclear waste cleanup sites across the country that depend on funding through the Office of Environmental Management to continue critical cleanup operations.

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