Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse (Wash.) accused the Trump administration of "playing politics" on Thursday with its reversal on funding for a nuclear waste repository in Nevada.
"I can't tell you how disappointed I was to see this administration playing politics with something as important as completing the permanent solution to our nation's high-level nuclear waste," Newhouse said during a hearing on the administration's proposed Department of Energy (DOE) budget.
"This budget is ... a total waste of resources and a distraction from solving this very important issue," he added.
President Trump announced this month that he no longer supports funding the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site, reversing his position on a controversial matter in a key state in November's elections. The change was reflected in his budget proposal for fiscal year 2021.
Congressman Newhouse represents the district where Hanford Nuclear Reservation is located.
While Beyond Nuclear joins with Hanford Nuclear Reservation watch-dog groups in calling for the irradiated nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste there to be managed in a way that protects public health, safety, and the environment, the answer is not to dump it at Yucca Mountain.