Vote on S. 1936 postponed again.

The cloture vote on the filibuster against S. 1936, scheduled for Thursday, July 25, has been cancelled. Senators Reid and Bryan of Nevada have agreed to stop their filibuster against S. 1936, in return for another delay on the final vote. The final vote on S. 1936 will occur next Wednesday, July 31. THIS WILL BE A VOTE ON THE BILL ITSELF!

We will not win this vote, but it is essential that we receive at least 34 votes against the bill, more if possible. This will indicate enough votes to sustain the veto President Clinton has promised.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: We've said it before, we'll say it again: call, fax & e-mail your Senators (note, you can again e-mail Senators directly from NIRS web site). If you haven't yet asked your friends, colleagues, neighbors, etc. to call, there is time, please do so now.

Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

In addition, it is time to call, fax & e-mail the White House, thank President Clinton for his veto promise and encourage him to follow through with it.

White House: 202-456-1111; fax: 202-456-2461; e-mail: president@whitehouse.gov

Finally, we do not expect the House of Representatives to act on this issue before the August recess, although IT IS POSSIBLE. The nuclear industry lobby is pushing the House to act as quickly as possible. The House can do one of two things: they can either take up their own Mobile Chernobyl Act, HR 1020, or if the House sponsors want to avoid a conference committee, they can take up the Senate bill as passed. We do not at this point know which route they will take.

Please call your House member this week as well (also at the Capitol Switchboard number above), and urge a vote against HR 1020 and any other "interim" storage legislation.

Don't forget that Congress will recess August 3 and will not return until after Labor Day. Your Congressmembers will be home in your areas campaigning. Try to meet with them and express your opposition to HR 1020 in person. Also, you may want to contact your Member's opponent and find out his/her stand on this issue, and whether it could become an issue in the election campaign.

In a related matter, a DC Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday issued a decision in a case brought by several utilities and state agencies. This decision says that the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 and contracts signed by DOE require DOE to take utility radioactive waste by January 31, 1998 or face unspecified penalties.

The nuclear industry will be sure to use this decision as another reason Congressmembers should vote for S. 1936 or HR 1020. HOWEVER, there are several points you can make: 1) the decision does NOT say that an "interim" dump must be built by 1998, nor even that an "interim" dump must be built at all; 2) it does not say that an interim dump must be built in Nevada (which actually would be against the law under the 1982 Act and Amendments); 3) it does not say that legislation allowing an "interim" dump must trample on nearly every major environmental law in the country, including NEPA, Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, etc.; 4) it does not say that the EPA should be forbidden from establishing radiation standards from an "interim" dump, nor from a permanent dump, for that matter, 5) it does not say legislation should pre-empt state authority; and so forth..

Further, the decision exacerbates what has been a central problem in U.S. radioactive waste policy decades: rather than understanding the difficult science of radioactive waste storage, it relies on an arbitrary factor--the January 31, 1998 date, that Congressmembers in 1982 thought would be a reasonable time to expect construction of a permanent waste dump to be completed. As we all know now, 1998 wasn't even close to reasonable. Constructing radioactive waste policy by date, rather than by science, is simply illogical and can only lead to bad policy.

We will have more on this decision in the next Nuclear Monitor.