Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) today issued the following statement after news reports that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requested an additional $60 million for its FY’19 budget, $47.7 million of which will be designated to funding Yucca Mountain:
“It’s a disgrace that President Trump and some Members of Congress find it acceptable to continue throwing away tax payer money on a failed project. Proponents of Yucca Mountain have already wasted more than $15 billion on a hole in the ground and have nothing to show for it. There is bipartisan agreement in Nevada’s congressional delegation, and widespread opposition amongst Nevadans against Yucca Mountain. I will continue to fight this Administration and call for consent-based siting for federal projects. Local voices must be heard and the people of Nevada have spoken: the health and safety of their communities and their families is not for sale to this Administration. Rather than continue wasting billions of dollars, Secretary Perry should devote his time to coming up with a plan that secures America’s clean energy future and respects the right of states’ to decide if they want to be a nuclear dumping ground.”
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