(TONOPAH,
NV) – GOP Rep. John Shimkus will
educate another dozen lawmakers on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste
repository this weekend via a field trip to the Nevada site. He told ME
"the purpose of the visit is to walk the grounds and get an appreciation
of the site" and that most of the lawmakers coming along have never been.
Shimkus said he expected Mark Menezes, undersecretary of Energy, to participate
along with other DOE officials.
Attendees include: Energy
and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden, Joe Barton, Larry Bucshon, Jeff Duncan, Neal Dunn, Brett Guthrie, Doug LaMalfa, Mark Sanford, David Valadao and Steve Womack. Donald Norcrossis the
lone Democrat on the trip.
Shimkus invited two Nevada Democrats —
Reps. Jacky Rosen and Dina Titus — to
participate in the visit after another, Rep. Ruben Kihuen, was unable
to make his schedule work. "Unfortunately, his schedule will no longer
enable him to tour the facility located in his congressional district,"
Shimkus wrote in a letter to Titus.
She told ME in a statement that she has visited the site before. Rosen slammed
Shimkus' visit as "an obvious political stunt" and vowed not to
participate. "I am not interested in giving legitimacy to his
taxpayer-funded junket," Rosen said in a statement to ME. Kihuen's office
did not respond to a request for comment.
A local group opposed to the project, the
Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force, wanted to attend but Shimkus said "logistical issues"
prevent its participation.
The approps fight: Shimkus
said he expects the issue to be a live one as the House and Senate work out
differences between their versions of the "minibus" that includes the
energy and water title. The House's bill included $267.7 million for the
project, while the Senate's didn't offer a penny. But Shimkus said House
Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen and
Rep. Mike Simpson, who leads
the subcommittee responsible for the title, would fight for the Yucca funding.
"They're supportive of our mark," Shimkus said.
Simpson added there was "nothing sinister" in the postponement of the
conference committee's first scheduled meeting on the minibus Thursday and said
that wrapping up negotiations by August is still "our goal."
"But it doesn't have to be before August. Obviously, we have until Oct. 1.
We'd like to get it done as soon as possible, but there are some issues in all
parts of it," he said. More on the battle over Veterans funding that
spurred the 11th-hour postponement here.
