UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--S. 1287 -- (Senate - January 31, 2000)

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Mr. LOTT. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the nuclear waste bill, S. 1287, following passage of the bankruptcy bill.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?

Mr. REID. Madam President, reserving the right to object, I say to my friend, the majority leader, that on the surface it does appear that something needs to be done with nuclear waste. If you get under the surface, of course, there should be something done.

I am not going to give a long dissertation now on nuclear waste. We have had that in the past. But the fact of the matter is, really what should happen is, it should stay where it is. That is what the scientists say. It could be safely stored on site in dry cast storage containment, as is done in Calvert Cliffs, MD, for the next 100 years.

The nuclear power industry, which has created this fiasco, wants someone else to clean up their mess. They want it out of their hands. They want their hands washed of it.

The fact of the matter is, we are looking at this

legislation. Senator MURKOWSKI is trying to come up with some alternative. I have been told by the minority on the Energy Committee that if that is the case, he is going to try to change the legislation that is now before this body. That is, the legislation now before this body would take the Environmental Protection Agency out of the mix; that is, the Environmental Protection Agency would not be setting the standards for Yucca Mountain, but it would be given to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which, in fact, is the one that does licensing. That really is literally having the fox guard the hen house.

In this legislation, we simply want things to remain the way they are--have the Environmental Protection Agency set the standards. But we understand there is a lot of agitation by the very powerful nuclear power industry, that wants to move this forward in spite of the fact that it could damage

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the country. We understand that. We hope good sense will prevail because the President has said he will veto this legislation. I think that is the reason Senator MURKOWSKI, the chairman of the committee, wants to come up with something that is going to be such that it will not create a fight here on the floor.

As the majority leader knows, we have enough votes to sustain a Presidential veto. We hope we will not get to the point where that is necessary.

Will the leader again state what the request is?

Mr. LOTT. The consent would be for the Senate to proceed to the nuclear waste bill, S. 1287, following passage of the bankruptcy bill.

Mr. REID. I object to that.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.

Mr. LOTT. I understood the Senator would object.

I think it is very important, though, that we move this legislation forward.

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