WASHINGTON – After a week of intense battling, Nevada Senators Harry Reid and Richard Bryan successfully beat back a Republican led attempt today to pass nuclear waste legislation by a veto-proof margin.

While S. 1287, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2000 ultimately passed the Senate 64 to 34, the measure failed to garner the necessary number of votes to override a promised veto by President Clinton.

"This victory puts the brakes on the latest attempt by Republicans to bury Nevada in nuclear waste," Reid, The Assistant Democratic Leader said. "I am pleased that many of our Senate colleagues saw this bill for what it was, a big, fat, yellow lemon. They tried to dress it up as an orange, but this legislation left a sour taste in the mouths of Senators who realized that it was designed to prop up the profits of the nuclear waste industry at the expense of the health and safety of millions of Americans."

"Today's vote was a major victory for Nevada. We are finally putting people's safety ahead of the nuclear power industry's bottom line. This is a battle that we have fought for years now, and today's outcome coupled with the President's promised veto, should be a relief to anyone who cares about protecting necessary health and safety standards as well as the environment. In the end, we have sent a strong message today that Nevada should not be the nation's nuclear dumping ground," Senator Bryan concluded.

It is imporatnt to note that under the version of S.1287 passed by the Senate today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will have full authority to set radiation standards for Yucca Mountain. This is significant for Nevada in the overall fight against Yucca Mountain because many experts believe the tougher standards will ultimately prevent the site from ever being licensed as a nuclear waste dump.

Additionally, the bill does not contain a provision that would have designated the Nevada Test Site as the nation's interim nuclear dump site, preventing the waste from being shipped to Nevada before a decision can be made on the suitability of Yucca Mountain.