Stop Mobile Chernobyl Action Day
April 26th is the anniversary of the Chernobyl reactor accident — This is a CALL for national day of action to the Stop Mobile Chernobyl bills, AGAIN!
There is only a month to plan, but lets mark the routes that high-level nuclear waste would take together, bring the nuclear waste transport issue into focus for every Senator and Representative who may be voting, once again, on whether to set up a parking lot dump in Nevada, on Shoshone land and ship the nation's high-level waste out of site and out of mind. Legislative !QU! follows.
If you need a copy of the map of proposed routes in your state, be in touch — e-mail
maryo@igc.org or call (202)328-0002.
Action ideas include:
--Banners on overpasses marking rail and highways as nuclear routes
--Mock nuclear waste shipments — you can do this without a mock nuclear waste cask (though the folks in Michigan are finishing the third mock cask). U-Haul trucks with banners well attached work fine. Some folks have staged mock accidents, (not in traffic, please don't endanger people!)...right in the middle of town or campus works well, even if you are "off the route"—drivers of actual shipments will be now and then too!
--"Pizza hangers" on people's door knobs, informing them of proximity "You are within ˝ mile of a proposed nuclear waste route" and telling them of a public meeting time and place
--Do a "War of the Worlds" type radio or cable access show on a mock nuclear waste accident — but tell people that it is a fiction...detailing the first 20 minutes after a nuclear shipment accident...we can help with the script...
--Hold a demo outside the offices of any Senator or Rep who voted for the Mobile Chernobyl Bill — they voted for these routes to carry nuclear waste. or if people in your area are already pretty aware of the route, do something to identify the member of Congress who voted for it, like: "Al D'Amato's Nuclear Waste Raceway" or "Hayworth Nuclear Highway"
--You idea here! — And do share it with NIRS so we can circulate it
back out to others!
Legislative Update on Mobile Chernobyl
Action expected in the Senate next, with a vote on a new version of Mobile Chernobyl
The Nuclear Energy Institute has decided to devote all of their energy to passing a nuclear waste bill this year (there had been some energy devoted to utility restructuring, but now that is shelved for 1998). This were in a lull in legislative action since last fall when the House passed HR 1270 due to Representative Ensign (R-NV) pointing out that boosters had screwed up. They neglected to notice that this is actually a tax bill and thus has to originate in the House, according to the constitution. This means that S 104, which is the original Senate version of the bill is dead.
Now the boosters have figured out a new plan. They are working on a new version of the same bad bill by combining HR 1270 and S104 in an informal "pre-conference." This new version will then be introduced in both the House and the Senate. The goal for bill
boosters is to see this bill passed with no amendments in either body, so no formal conference committee will be required.
This new strategy cuts down the number of actions the Senate will have to take, and thus limits the amount of time that our Champions, Senators Bryan and Reid from Nevada can bottle things up. If the bill were to take the more traditional route allowing amendments and a conference committee, then the Nevadans could use up almost 1/3 of the remaining Senate floor time. As it is, they can take up at least 8 days.
The timeline is not known at this point, but leadership at the committee level in House and Senate have met and agreed to this strategy. Once the version is available it may go to the Senate floor rapidly, as there will be no committee hearings required.
If the Senate continues to hold a dissenting minority large enough to sustain a veto from President Clinton, then the bill is likely dead for the rest of the year. There have been 34 or more votes against Mobile Chernobyl every time the Senate has voted — for the last 3 years. This is because of our hard work—NIRS and hundreds of local groups and thousands of individuals. We can do it again!
Now is a very good time to remind your Senators of your position on this legislation — as them to support the Clinton veto of this legislation, and to support the Nevada delegation.
Short hand written letters to your Senators, U. S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510 or calls to the Switchboard 202-224-3121.
Now is also a very good time to be forming phone trees, in the event of a Senate vote we will need to deluge the Hill with calls and letters.
Mary Olson
Nuclear Information & Resource Service
1424 16th St NW Suite 404
Washington, DC 20036
202-328-0002
http://www.nirs.org
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