Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senators Harry Reid and Richard Bryan praised President Clinton and Vice President Gore today for vetoing legislation which would have accelerated nuclear waste being dumped in Nevada, while weakening scientific standards for evaluating the proposed storage site at Yucca Mountain.

"President Clinton today has demonstrated that the power of the 'veto pen' is mightier than the nuclear industry's dollar,"said Reid, the Assistant Democratic Leader. "By refusing to sign this Republican backed bill, the President and Vice President have sided with Nevada's families and with the millions of Americans who would be in danger from nuclear waste being shipped across our nation. Last weekend Americans celebrated Earth Day and this week, on April 26, the world will mark the anniversary of the deadly nuclear accident at Chernobyl. I can think of no better way to demonstrate a commitment to protecting lives and the environment than for the President to veto this special interest legislation which was bought and paid for by the nuclear industry."

"After today's veto, every Nevadan truly owes the President and Vice President a debt of gratitude for their courageous stance on this issue," Bryan said. "The President's veto has always been the lynchpin of our strategy in the Senate. We have always been able to garner enough votes to sustain a Presidential veto of these misguided efforts to stack the deck against Nevada. Clearly, this legislation was the nuclear power industry's latest attempt at trying to change the rules in the middle of the game to weaken existing health and safety standards for hundreds of thousands of Nevadans."

At a news conference in the Capitol prior to the White House veto ceremony, Reid and Bryan joined with members of the Nevada Congressional Delegation and representatives from the nation's leading environmental groups to voice their appreciation to the Clinton-Gore Administration for rejecting Senate Bill S.1287, and for standing up to public pressure from the powerful nuclear waste lobby.

"The nuclear industry and its Republican allies have pulled out all the stops in their attempts to intimidate the White House into signing this bill. But in spite of their million dollar ad blitz and arm twisting in Congress, the President and Vice-President have put public health and safety above protecting the nuclear industry's bottom line," said Reid.

"This legislation that the Republican majority in Congress has been trying to force down the throats of the American people not only jeopardizes the health and safety of every Nevadan, but puts millions of other Americans at risk. If the Republican majority is still intent on trying to override this dangerous legislation, they can be assured that we have the votes to sustain today's historic veto. And let no one be confused about the politics that the Republican party has played with this issue – it has been their leadership that has driven this effort, and it has been their individual members of Congress who have overwhelmingly supported the nuclear power industry's efforts to dump nuclear waste in Nevada," said Bryan.

While the Senators have said they are hopeful that the nuclear waste bill is dead for this year, Reid and Bryan remain on-guard against Republican attempts to override the President's veto. Under the Constitution, the override would require a two-thirds majority vote in both houses of Congress. While it was approved by both the House and Senate, S.1287, failed to receive the votes needed to override the President's decision to reject the bill.