This Thanksgiving, Talk Turkey To Your Congressmembers! Stop $50 Billion In Nuclear Power Loan Guarantees! Demand An Energy Bill That Promotes Renewables And Energy Efficiency!
Dear Friends:
Members of Congress will be coming home to their districts Saturday, November 17, 2007 for a 2-week Thanksgiving break. This year, because the energy bills are likely to be addressed immediately after the break, it is especially important for grassroots groups and even individuals to try to meet with them and/or to ask questions at public meetings. It’s also important right now to send letters to the editor, op-eds, and otherwise act to bring the issue of taxpayer loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors further into the public eye. It won’t happen unless you make it happen!
*Tell your Members not to support the provision in the recent Senate energy bill that could allow over $50 billion in loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors. This provision not only would help finance new nuclear reactors, but would allow money to be appropriated without annual congressional budgetary oversight.
*A specific ask you can make of your Members: Ask House Members to send a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stating that they oppose the loan guarantees. Senators should be asked to send a similar letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Those of you who live in Pelosi and Reid’s districts should demand that they stand firm and not allow the loan guarantee language in the final energy bill.
*Members on an Appropriations Committee (list below) should receive your special attention. These Members have the most to lose politically from the loan guarantees: a) they would lose power if the guarantees are removed from the annual appropriations process; b) they will be the first to be blamed if utilities default on the loans—and remember that the Congressional Budget Office predicts 50% of the loans in this program will default, which would cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
To find out how to contact your House of Representative member when he/she is in their home district go to http://www.house.gov (once on the front page of the website there is a drop down scroll of all the Representatives’ individual websites that will have their local contact information). Or call the Congressional Switchboard at 800-839-5276 or 202-224-3121.
To find out how to contact your state’s Senators go to http://www.senate.gov/ (once on the front page of the website there is a drop down scroll of all Senators’ personal websites with their local contact information). Or call the Congressional Switchboard at 800-839-5276 or 202-224-3121.
*Background information and fact sheets on the loan guarantees are available on the front page of NIRS website (www.nirs.org) in the Hot News and Actions section with additional materials available in our Nuclear Economics section at http://www.nirs.org/nukerelapse/neconomics/neconomicshome.htm
While speaking to your Members, also urge them to ensure that any energy bill includes strong provisions to support renewable energy and energy efficiency, and increased vehicle mileage standards. The nuclear power and other polluting industries are working hard to remove these important sections and to water down as many sustainable energy provisions as they can.
We all need to fight back now! Please activate phone trees and e-mail lists, and reach out to as many people as you can. This two-week period when Congress is in recess is critical.
As always, please call upon NIRS to help you in any way we can.
Michael Mariotte
for all of us at
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 340
Takoma Park, MD 20912
301-270-6477
nirsnet@nirs.org
www.nirs.org)
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House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations
Democrats
David R. Obey, Wisconsin, Chair
John P. Murtha, Pennsylvania
Norman D. Dicks, Washington
Alan B. Mollohan, West Virginia
Marcy Kaptur, Ohio
Peter J. Visclosky, Indiana
Nita M. Lowey, New York
José E. Serrano, New York
Rosa L. DeLauro, Connecticut
James P. Moran, Virginia
John W. Olver, Massachusetts
Ed Pastor, Arizona
David E. Price, North Carolina
Chet Edwards, Texas
Robert E. "Bud" Cramer, Jr., Alabama
Patrick J. Kennedy, Rhode Island
Maurice D. Hinchey, New York
Lucille Roybal-Allard, California
Sam Farr, California
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., Illinois
Carolyn C. Kilpatrick, Michigan
Allen Boyd, Florida
Chaka Fattah, Pennsylvania
Steven R. Rothman, New Jersey
Sanford Bishop, Georgia
Marion Berry, Arkansas
Barbara Lee, California
Tom Udall, New Mexico
Adam Schiff, California
Michael Honda, California
Betty McCollum, Minnesota
Steve Israel, New York
Tim Ryan, Ohio
C.A "Dutch" Ruppersberger, Maryland
Ben Chandler, Kentucky
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida
Ciro Rodriguez, Texas
Republicans
Jerry Lewis, California
C.W. Bill Young, Florida
Ralph Regula, Ohio
Harold Rogers, Kentucky
Frank R. Wolf, Virginia
James T. Walsh, New York
David L. Hobson, Ohio
Joe Knollenberg, Michigan
Jack Kingston, Georgia
Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, New Jersey
Roger F. Wicker, Mississippi
Todd Tiahrt, Kansas
Zach Wamp, Tennessee
Tom Latham, Iowa
Robert B.Aderholt, Alabama
Jo Ann Emerson, Missouri
Kay Granger, Texas
John E. Peterson, Pennsylvania
Virgil H. Goode, Jr., Virginia
Ray LaHood, Illinois
Dave Weldon, Florida
Michael K. Simpson, Idaho
John Abney Culberson, Texas
Mark Steven Kirk, Illinois
Ander Crenshaw, Florida
Dennis R. Rehberg, Montana
John Carter, Texas
Rodney Alexander, Louisiana
Ken Calvert, California
Senate Committee on Appropriations
Democrats
Robert Byrd, West Virginia
Daniel Inouye, Hawaii
Patrick Leahy, Vermont
Tom Harkin, Iowa
Barbara Mikulski, Maryland
Herb Kohl, Wisconsin
Patty Murray, Washington
Byron Dorgan, North Dakota
Dianne Feinstein, California
Richard Durbin, Illinois
Tim Johnson, South Dakota
Mary Landrieu, Louisiana
Jack Reed, Rhode Island
Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey
Ben Nelson, Nebraska
Republicans
Thad Cochran, Mississippi
Ted Stevens, Alaska
Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania
Pete Domenici, New Mexico
Kit Bond, Missouri
Mitch McConnell, Kentucky
Richard Shelby, Alabama
Judd Gregg, New Hampshire
Robert Bennett, Utah
Larry Craig, Idaho
Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas
Sam Brownback, Kansas
Wayne Allard, Colorado
Lamar Alexander, Tennessee
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