July 7, 2016
Contact: Kyle Roerink
Phone: 202-657-3219
Washington, D.C. – Today Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s First Congressional District testified in front of the House Subcommittee on Environment and Economy to protest the GOP’s farcical hearing to promote a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain entitled, “Federal, State, and Local Agreements and Associated Benefits for Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal.”
Below is an excerpt of the Congresswoman’s remarks from the hearing and background information. You can watch her complete testimony here.
“Members of Congress may board a plane to my District and then be shuttled out to the desert north of town for a photo op where they can see the dry and desolate moonscape where Yucca Mountain is located. But they should not be fooled by such a superficial look at lands Nevadans love and want to protect. Southern Nevada is not a wasteland. It is home to unique desert habitats, rare and endangered species of plants and animals, iconic wildlife like Big Horn Sheep and Desert Tortoises, and cultural resources from Native American tribes dating back thousands of years.
“Such a quick visit also ignores the fact that beneath the surface are major fault lines and a water table that moves toward the Las Vegas Valley. Furthermore, the waste to be stored has to be shipped thousands of miles across the nation on highways and byways that travel through small towns and big cities, farmlands and scenic preserves, near churches, schools, and neighborhoods in almost every Member’s district. God forbid there be an accident.”
Background
The title of the hearing was political “nukespeak” from a cohort of congressional Republicans who falsely promise Nevada benefits in exchange for accepting the dump. There is no reason to believe that these same Republicans, who have failed to pass a budget and shut down the government over spending differences, are going to appropriate extra bribe money for Nevada.
Along with her testimony, Rep. Titus also provided the subcommittee with letters of opposition from The Nevada Resort Association, The Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce, The League of Women Voters, The Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, The Nevada Nuclear waste Task Force, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, and the Democratic leadership of the Nevada Legislature.