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Rep. Shimkus: Stop Kowtowing to Sen. Reid on Yucca Mountain

By Eric McErlain
Rep. John Shimkus
In an editorial in today's edition of the Lacrosse Tribune, Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), renewed his call for the federal government to fulfill its commitments under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act and open a permanent geologic depository at Yucca Mountain:
It’s not just coal that suffers under the Clean Power Plan though. Energy consumers in states such as Illinois will get no credit toward meeting the EPA’s standards from existing carbon-free nuclear power.

For those fixated on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, but honest enough to admit the threat drastic cuts pose to baseload capacity, nuclear is a no-brainer. Here again, however, the president’s energy policies are at odds with the majority of America’s elected representatives. By kowtowing to Sen. Harry Reid’s, D-Nev., fear-mongering opposition to a permanent geologic repository for nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, the administration denies nuclear power suppliers the certainty they need to continue producing emission-free, baseload electricity.
Rep. Shimkus is one of the most passionate supporters of the Yucca Mountain project, frequently taking to the floor of the House of Representatives to defend it. Here's a clip from March 2013 where the congressman laid out his case for the repository:


Bravo. For more on the safe storage of used nuclear fuel, please visit our website.
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Comments

Anonymous said…
Fool us once (Chernobyl), shame on you,
Fool us twice (Fukushima), shame on us.
Fukushima has been like a volcano, spewing radiation into the air, sea, and groundwater for 4 1/2 years, non-stop. The Pacific Ocean is dying, West Coast sea and land life is clearly being affected.
Final wake-up call.
September 18, 2015 at 1:30 PM
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