Congresswoman Shelley Berkley - Legislation: Press Releases 2000

Las Vegas, NV (December 19, 2000) — Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (NV-1) announced today at a press conference that she had written to President-elect George W. Bush, calling his attention to the recent controversy over a secret Department of Energy (DOE) memo concerning Yucca Mountain. The memo was recently leaked to the public and included suggestions that an upcoming site characterization report could be used by the Department to lobby Members of Congress. Not only is lobbying by federal bureaucracies considered highly inappropriate, but the discovery suggests the possibility of a deep seated institutional bias in the Department. The Secretary of Energy, Bill Richardson, has appropriately referred the matter to the Inspector General (IG), who is expected to investigate possible collusion between the Department or its contractors and the nuclear energy industry. Because political appointees to every department will change with the incoming Bush Administration, the IG will likely be issuing his report to the new and yet-to-be-named Secretary of Energy. In the letter, Berkley encourages the new President to resist political predetermination, and to root out bias in a process that has been sorely compromised.

The letter is as follows:

Dear President-elect Bush:

I wish to extend my congratulations to you on becoming our 43rd President, and I look forward to working with your administration on issues of importance to my congressional district in southern Nevada. I would like to take this opportunity to call your attention to an alarming issue concerning the Yucca Mountain Project.

Recently, an internal Department of Energy (DOE) memorandum, which was clearly written under the influence of nuclear power industry lobbyists, came to the attention of Nevada’s congressional delegation. This memorandum clearly stated that a Department of Energy report on the status of the Yucca Mountain Project should be used as a political lobbying vehicle to advocate the construction of a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

The surfacing of this memo and its publication in news reports sparked outrage across Nevada and among Americans everywhere who want an objective, non-political solution to the problem of nuclear waste. Responding to a request from Senator Harry Reid, Energy Secretary Richardson has ordered a DOE Inspector General investigation of this memorandum and the potential violation of laws that preclude federal agencies from lobbying Congress.

I am certain that Secretary Richardson, in keeping with the current administration’s policy of fair play for Nevada regarding nuclear waste policy, is taking all necessary steps to enable the Inspector General’s office to complete its investigation as rapidly as possible. However, should this critically important investigation continue under your administration, I respectfully urge that you ensure a thorough investigation and timely report.

The recent revelation of the lobbying memorandum is further proof that the Yucca Mountain Project, virtually since its inception, has been tainted by the nuclear industry’s inappropriate influence on agencies under the Department of Energy and by political expediency. In the 1980's, Congress called for several potential repository sites to be studied. But only one has been studied and that is Yucca Mountain. The mountain itself has been shown to be an ineffective natural barrier to the release of radiation into the environment, but lobbying and politics have enabled the project to go forward by repeatedly changing the safety rules.

I believe the recent, inappropriate DOE memorandum is a strong indicator of the diligence and oversight a president must exercise if America is to have an objective, science-based nuclear waste policy instead of a policy of and by special interests.

I thank you for considering my views.

Sincerely,

SHELLEY BERKLEY
Member of Congress