On Thursday, April 25 the Senate passed the Senate Energy “Reform” Bill (S 517) by a vote of 88-13, disregarding public wishes.

Senate Bill 517:

1) Nationalizes nuclear power by giving taxpayer money and federal land to the nuclear industry to research and “deploy” new nuclear reactors; thereby creating more officially recognized terrorist targets.

2) Uses taxpayer money to create more radioactive waste for which we currently have no solution.

3) Further blurs the line between nuclear power and nuclear weapons by “deploying” reactors at current and former government weapons sites.

4) Gives the nuclear industry over 1 billion dollars in tax breaks.

5) Extends Price Anderson Act protection to new nuclear reactors. This Act caps nuclear industry liability in case of a catastrophic nuclear accident. Current reactors are covered whether or not Price Anderson is renewed.

6) Extends to new reactors, through Price Anderson renewal, an insurance subsidy which currently amounts to 3.4 billion dollars per year

7) Encourages reprocessing of radioactive waste, treating it as a commodity rather than a tremendous hazard.

ACTION: Over the next few months during the conference committee **, we will be asking folks for various actions, so watch your emails. In the meantime you can do the following:

1) Below is the list of Senators who voted AGAINST S 517.THANK THEM. If your Senator is NOT listed, they voted for the bill. Contact your Senators, www.senate.gov, (faxes are best) and let them know how outrageous it is to use taxpayer money and federal land to build a new generation of nuclear reactors.
2) Write op-eds and letters to the editor of any local, state and/or national papers. NIRS’ has a sample op-ed at www.nirs.org. A few op-eds have already shown up in national papers denouncing S 517. We must keep up the momentum and bring nuclear to the front of the debate.
3) Organize and educate your communities around S 517, and how it favors nuclear subsidies while discouraging renewable energy and efficiency. For more background on S 517, see www.nirs.org.

The American public has made it clear they want energy efficiency and renewable energy rather than the current energy policies of subsidies, dangerous energy like nuclear power and reliance on dwindling resources.

The democrats felt pressured to pass an energy bill—regardless of what it actually contained—because they did not want to be accused of rising gas prices, deregulation boondoggles and future energy crises ala California. As a result, we are facing an energy policy more reflective of 1952 rather than 2002. We are also facing an energy policy which will not only NOT address the problems the democrats fear, it could actually make things worse.

**ALL IS NOT LOST. While we lost the first round, we are gearing up for rounds yet to come. The Senate bill still must go through Conference Committee to make it match the Bill the US House of Representatives passed last year (HR 4). The bills are quite different (both are awful) and meshing them will take time and much political wrangling. NIRS will keep you updated as events warrant.

We can still give America the energy policy it desperately needs even after loosing this round, but the Senate must hear your loud, constant opposition. We must get as many folks together as possible to speak with one voice opposing further taxpayer breaks and bailouts of nuclear energy.

If you have additional questions or require background information, contact Cindy Folkers at NIRS; 202-328-0002. Keep your eyes open for updates and new actions.  Thank you.

NAYS --- 11
                Boxer                   Graham                  McCain
                Clinton                 Gramm                   Reed
                Feingold                Kennedy                 Schumer
                Feinstein               Kyl