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If H.R. 1270, as reported by the Commerce Committee, were presented in its
current form, the President would veto the bill. H.R. 1270 would undermine the
credibility of the Nation's nuclear waste disposal program by designating a
specified site for an interim storage facility before the viability of that
site as a permanent geological repository has been assessed.
The Administration is committed to resolving the complex and important issue of
nuclear waste storage in a timely and sensible manner. The Federal
government's long-standing commitment to permanent, geological disposal should
remain the basic goal of high-level radioactive waste management policy. This
Administration has instituted planning and management initiatives to accelerate
progress on determining the suitability of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as a
permanent geologic disposal site.
H.R. 1270, however, would establish Nevada as the site of an interim nuclear
waste storage facility before the viability assessment of Yucca Mountain as a
permanent geologic repository is completed. Moreover, even if Yucca Mountain
is determined not to be viable for a permanent repository, the bill would
provide no plausible opportunity to designate a viable alternative as an
interim storage site. Any potential siting decision concerning such a facility
ultimately should be based on objective, science-based criteria and guided by
the likelihood of the success of the Yucca Mountain site.
In addition, the Administration strongly objects to the bill's weakening of
existing environmental standards by preempting all Federal, State, and local
laws inconsistent with the environmental requirements of this bill and the
Atomic Energy Act. This preemption would effectively replace the Environmental
Protection Agency's authority to set acceptable radiation release standards
with a statutory standard. In addition, the bill would undermine the purposes
of the National Environmental Policy Act by, among other things, creating
significant loopholes in the environmental assessment process.
Finally, the completion of a permanent geological repository is essential not
only for commercial spent fuel disposal, but also for the cleanup of the
Department of Energy's nuclear weapons complex and the disposal of its
weapons-grade materials. In addition, these actions are necessary to further
U.S. international nuclear nonproliferation objectives. H.R. 1270 would, in
the near-term, put interim storage activities in competition with actions
needed to complete the permanent geologic repository. Consequently, the
bill's enactment could delay the appropriate disposition of our surplus
weapons-grade materials.
Pay-As-You-Go Scoring
H.R. 1270 would affect outlays; therefore, it is subject to the pay-as-you-go
requirements of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. Preliminary
estimates indicate that H.R. 1270 would reduce offsetting receipts by $630
million in each of FYs 1999 through 2001, a total of $1,890 million, and
increase such receipts by $2,070 million in FY 2002. H.R. 1270 does not
contain provisions to offset potential deficit increases in its early years;
consequently, if the bill were enacted, any deficit effects could contribute to
a sequester of mandatory spending in each of FYs 1999 through 2001.
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