U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee passes H.R. 2699 by voice vote
H.R. 2699, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019, was passed by the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee on Wed., Nov. 20, by voice vote. That is, there is no roll call record as to how each U.S. Representative voted. Voice votes are usually applied only to non-controversial matters, such as naming a post office.
This dangerously bad high-level radioactive waste legislation should be among the most controversial bills Congress addresses. H.R. 2699 aims to open one or more dumps in the Southwest -- so-called consolidated interim storage facilities (CISFs), targeted at New Mexico and/or Texas, as well as a permanent burial dump at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, on Western Shoshone Indian land. If any one of these dumps open, large-scale shipments of high-risk irradiated nuclear fuel, by road, rail, and/or waterway, would travel through most states, past the homes of millions of Americans.
Considering their targeting for the nuke waste dumps, this bill could be called the Screw Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas bill. (The 1987 amendments to the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which singled out Nevada for the country's nuke waste dump, was most commonly dubbed the Screw Nevada bill.) But when it comes to the high-risk transportation impacts, we all live in Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas!
See the self-congratulatory press release by the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee chairman, Frank Pallone Jr. (Democrat-New Jersey), here.
H.R. 2699 is sponsored by CA Democrat Jerry McNerney. A co-sponsor is John Shimkus (Republican-IL), who sponsored very similar legislation, H.R. 3053, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2018, in the last congressional session. (H.R. 3053 passed the U.S. House on May 10, 2018, but was never taken up by the U.S. Senate.) There are currently 25 co-sponsors of H.R. 2699. See them listed here.
Note that an amendment was also passed by voice vote, that "conveys the Sense of Congress that neither the United States nor Canada should allow permanent or long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel or other radioactive waste near the Great Lakes." The amendment was introduced by two Michigan U.S. Representatives, Debbie Dingell (Democrat) and Fred Upton (Republican).
While this amendment appears reasonable on its face, it is also hypocritical. It only addresses the permanent or long term storage of irradiated nuclear fuel near the Great Lakes, but makes no mention of its generation there in the first place. In fact, both Dingell and Upton are long time proponents of atomic reactors on the Great Lakes shoreline. Upton has not had his constituents' backs regarding high-risk dry cask storage at Palisades in southwest Michigan, which began 26 years ago.
Beyond Nuclear, and 25 allied organizations from the U.S. and Canada, called out Dingell's and Upton's hypocrisy in an open letter sent to Great Lakes members of the U.S. Congress, during earlier consideration of very similar legislation (H.R. 3053, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017 and 2018, during the last congressional session). See the Dec. 20, 2017 coalition letter here; see the Jan. 4, 2018 press release here.
What can you do? Contact your U.S. Representative, and urge opposition to this dangerously bad bill, H.R. 2699!
You can also contact both your U.S. Senators. Urge them to oppose H.R. 2699, and its Senate companion bill. Unlike the last congressional session, the U.S. Senate has already taken up H.R. 2699. The Senate has not assigned a bill number for the legislation, but on May 1, 2019, S._______, a Discussion Draft of the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019, was taken up by the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's chairman, John Barrasso (Republican-WY).
(See Senate side update, posted below.)
You can also reach your Congress Members' D.C. offices by calling the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
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Shortly after the bill advanced out of the E&C panel, Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman John Barrasso introduced similar legislation in the upper chamber.