"George W. Bush's statement about the proposed nuclear dump site at Yucca Mountain is a classic example of offering too little, too late. Nevadans have been waiting for months for George W. Bush to make a definitive statement about where he stands on burying nuclear waste in Nevada. Unfortunately, the statement we finally received was short, shallow, and ultimately said nothing.

It's telling that Bush waited to make this statement until after we voted on the most recent nuke waste bill, after President Clinton vetoed it, and after the Republicans in Congress tried -- and failed -- to override the veto. During our long, hard battle to defeat this measure, George W. Bush was nowhere to be found. Maybe if he had summoned the nerve to make a statement on the issue then, we might have picked up the votes of more than two Republican Senators. As it was, 90% of the Republicans in the House and the Senate voted against Nevadans' best interests, and if we didn't have Clinton, who was willing to veto the bill, nuclear waste would be on its way to Nevada now.

George W. Bush says he would not support sending nuclear waste to any facility that isn't "deemed scientifically safe." But deemed safe by whom? He never says who he believes should make this monumental decision. Would he leave it up to scientists who work for the Environmental Protection Agency? Or scientists who work for the nuclear industry? Or some bureaucrat in his hypothetical future administration who took one science course in high school? Nevadans should not be fooled by these vague promises. The Republicans are nestled in the deep pockets of the nuclear industry. Vice President Al Gore has always been a staunch supporter of Nevada's interests. We need to elect Al Gore as our next president, so we can rest assured that the next time the Republicans try to push nuclear waste into Nevada, we will still have a President who will veto the bill."