The Senate Energy Bill, S 14, is Expected to Return to the Senate Floor Call Your Senator Now!
Dear Friends,
The Senate Energy Bill, S 14, is expected to return to the Senate floor this week for additional debate. There are two very important amendments that will be offered. We urge you to call and fax your Senators in support of these amendments.
The first is being offered by Sens. Wyden (D-or) and Sununu (R-NH). It would strike Title IV, Subtitle B of S. 14. This provision would authorize the Department of Energy to provide federal loan guarantees to finance half the cost of bringing online 8,400 megawatts of new nuclear reactors—amounting to a taxpayer subsidy of tens of billions of dollars. There are no guidelines regarding interest rates and repayment for the loan guarantees, and the Congressional Budget Office considers the risk of default on such a loan guarantee to be "very high—well above 50 percent." This provision also would authorize the federal government to enter into purchase agreements to buy power back from these new reactors. The legislation does not state how much energy the federal government will purchase and at what rate, but Department of Energy documents recommend that the federal government contract to purchase nuclear power at above market rates.
The second amendment is being offered by Sen. Bingaman (D-NM). It would strike Title IV, Subtitle C from S. 14. This subtitle would provide open-ended funding—again, potentially billions of dollars--to the Department of Energy to build a new gas-cooled nuclear reactor that generates both hydrogen and electricity at the Idaho National Environment and Engineering Laboratory.
CALL the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121, and ask to be transferred to the offices of your senators. Ask your Senators to SUPPorT these amendments.
SEND A FREE FAX to your Senators at Public Citizen's website at: http://www.stopenergybill.org
We continue to oppose S. 14 in its entirety, and we urge its defeat. However, it is still important that these amendments be approved. We will keep you informed about the energy bill and future key votes. To join NIRS' e-mail Alert list, simply send your name and e-mail address to nirsnet@nirs.org. Check NIRS website, www.nirs.org, regularly for !QU!d information and fact sheets on key issues.
Thanks for your help!
Michael Mariotte
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
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