Whitfield Touts Nuclear Power on House Floor
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield (KY-01) took to the floor of the House of Representatives today to tout nuclear power as a reliable, emissions free energy source while blasting the Obama Administration for pulling the plug on a project critical to its future use in the United States.
“Nuclear power is a proven, reliable, emissions free energy source that accounts for 20 percent of our nation’s electricity supply,” Whitfield said. “It is also an industry critical to the western Kentucky economy and the energy future of the Commonwealth as a whole. It is absurd to me, then, that the Obama Administration would undermine decades of research and take actions which would threaten the future use of nuclear power.”
Whitfield, a long time advocate of nuclear energy, spoke on the floor of the House today about the importance of nuclear power as part of the nation’s energy mix. The Congressman also criticized the Administration for their efforts to stop the building of Yucca Mountain, a high-level nuclear waste repository more than 30 years in the making. The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, located in western Kentucky, plays a critical role in the nuclear energy industry, as it is the only domestic uranium enrichment plant, producing uranium to fuel nuclear power plants across the country.
There are currently 109 nuclear plants located in 39 states across the country. At each of these sites, nuclear waste is being stored, making it a major environmental, security and economic challenge. The solution that was being proposed was to build Yucca Mountain as a deep repository to store the waste indefinitely. The Department of Energy (DOE) spent many years and billions of dollars developing this project, which could begin accepting waste in the next few years.
However, last week President Obama withdrew the license for this project and DOE has asked for Congressional approval to reprogram the money slated for the project this year, essentially stopping all movement on the initiative. The President has instead established the ‘Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future’ to develop recommendations on what to do with the nation’s nuclear waste. Whitfield sharply criticized the President for scrapping a long-established solution which could begin accepting waste in the next few years, and instead prolonging discussions that will only stall the progress of our nation’s nuclear energy industry.
Whitfield also noted that halting the Yucca Mountain project could potentially cost the government billions of dollars. Since it was the government’s original plan to take ownership of nuclear waste after the Yucca Mountain facility was completed, utility companies have been paying the federal government to care for this waste. However, since the government has failed to take the waste, utility companies have recently begun filing lawsuits against the government to recoup costs associated with having to store the waste at their own plant sites. A number of court cases have ruled that DOE is indeed in breach of contract and is liable for the cost of keeping the waste. Some industry leaders have estimated these lawsuits could cost the federal government as much as $56 billion.
Attached is an audio clip of the Congressman speaking on the House floor today. To see video of Congressman Whitfield’s speech, please visit his YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/WhitfieldKY01.
