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In a September Shocker, Energy
Conferees Move to Increase America's Dependence on Foreign Oil
and Raise Threat of Nuclear Proliferation
WASHINGTON (September 12, 2002) -- A day after the nation
commemorated the tragic loss of American lives in last year's
terrorist attacks, House energy bill conferees sent to the
Senate their proposal on automobile fuel economy provisions
that would deepen the country's reliance on foreign oil. They
also rejected two amendments by Rep. Waxman (D-CA), one that
would have eliminated a loophole in the fuel economy law and
another that simply would have required that the United States
not backslide on existing fuel economy standards.
"Today's action by the conference committee will make the
United States more dependent on oil from the Persian Gulf,"
said Dan Lashof, science director of the Climate Center at
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). "We should be
working to become energy independent, not adopting measures
that will send billions more money to regimes that harbor
those who consider America their sworn enemy."
Both the House and Senate failed to adopt meaningful fuel
economy improvements, passing instead provisions that at best
would save, by the end of the decade, the equivalent of what
the United States currently consumes in six days. Now the
conferees are trying to undermine even that paltry goal.
The United States remains dangerously dependent on foreign
oil. Consider these facts:
- U.S. oil imports for the first six months of this year
averaged 10.3 million barrels per day, accounting for 53
percent of our total supply.
- More than 21 percent of total imports came from the
Persian Gulf, including more than 600,000 barrels per day
from Iraq.
- Total imports from the Persian Gulf and Iraq were higher
during the first six months of 2002 than they were during
the same period in 2000.
- Technology is available to improve the fuel economy of
America's cars and trucks by enough to save more oil
annually than we imported from Iraq last year.
For more information on U.S. oil dependence, see NRDC's
report Dangerous
Addiction: Ending America's Oil Dependence.
Reviving the Nuclear Threat
In addition, the energy bill contains a provision that
would reverse the decades-old ban on reprocessing nuclear
fuel. More than 25 years ago, the Ford administration
determined that reprocessing -- separating plutonium from
spend nuclear fuel -- presents the unacceptable risk that
terrorists or rogue states could use this to develop nuclear
weapons. With their huge inventories of radioactive materials,
reprocessing plants themselves also present an especially
damaging target for terrorist attack.
"Rather than protect Americans, the energy bill endangers
national security by creating new sources of weapons-grade
nuclear material," said Alys Campaigne, NRDC's legislative
director.
Astonishingly, the conferees also rejected Rep. Ed Markey's
(D-Mass.) amendment to establish a system to closely monitor
nuclear materials shipped within the United States or imported
into the country. It also would have directed the
administration to conduct a study identifying threats to U.S.
commercial nuclear reactors and require a program to ensure
the security of power plants and nuclear waste storage
facilities. They also defeated another Markey amendment that
would have created a blue-ribbon nuclear security task force
to determine which radioactive materials should be classified
as "sensitive," develop a classification system based on their
potential use by terrorists, and establish a national tracking
system for this material.
The conferees also voted today to re-authorize the Price
Anderson Act, a bill that provides indemnification for nuclear
plants in the case of an accident. The Price-Anderson Act
protects nuclear power plant owners from the full cost of
accidents and limits the protection offered to the public by
the federal government in the event of a large accident. This
unique form of federal intervention distorts competition in
the wholesale electricity market in favor of nuclear power and
underscores the inherent uncertainty about the safety and
potential magnitude of accidents at nuclear power plants.
"Spending taxpayer money to develop and expand nuclear
power plants in the absence of careful, comprehensive scrutiny
of the existing risks at nuclear facilities defies logic and
commonsense," added Campaigne.
Since this legislation does not expire until 2002, NRDC
strongly recommends delaying consideration of Price-Anderson
reauthorization until the implications for U.S. nuclear
facility vulnerability and liability can be fully
evaluated.
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a
national, non-profit organization of scientists, lawyers and
environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public
health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has more
than 500,000 members nationwide, served from offices in New
York, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Related NRDC Pages
Dangerous
Addiction: Ending America's Oil Dependence
F.A.Q.:
Energy and National Security