U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) released the below statement today after the U.S. House of Representatives approved on a bipartisan vote the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act, H.R.3053, legislation to jumpstart Yucca Mountain and direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to decide whether to approve construction of the waste repository within 30 months.

“The U.S. House of Representatives bipartisan approval of a bill to revive Yucca Mountain reinforces exactly what is at stake for the state of Nevada: without my leadership in the United States Senate, Yucca Mountain will get the green light. That’s because no one else can stop this; the House of Representatives has repeatedly attempted to bring nuclear waste to Nevada, but each time they’ve hit a brick wall only because I’ve stonewalled their action. Today’s stunt is no different – this bill is dead on arrival to the U.S. Senate. Plain and simple. Not only will I place a hold on the bill immediately, I will object to the motion to proceed and stop this proposal at every procedural turn,” said Heller. “The U.S. House of Representatives can continue to exhaust themselves with these futile exercises, but it’s a waste of time and does nothing to solve the nation’s nuclear waste problem. Instead, Congress should consider the consent-based approach that I’ve been championing because it is the only viable path forward.”

Earlier this year, Heller successfully ensured that the $150 million requested by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the NRC to support and fund licensing activities at the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository was excluded from the FY2018 government spending bill. 

Heller’s previous work to stop Yucca Mountain from being funded:

• On April 25, 2018 in a letter submitted to Subcommittee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Heller expressed his strong opposition to funding the NRC and said he remains staunchly opposed to any federal efforts to revive Yucca Mountain.
• On March 21, 2018 during a U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney, U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) highlighted the Administration’s reckless and fiscally irresponsible pursuit of Yucca Mountain, stating that the federal government has already wasted billions of dollars on the project. When asked about alternative solutions to the country’s nuclear waste problem, Director Mulvaney told Heller that he is open-minded to other resolutions and suggested they work together to find one.
• On March 20, 2018 in a letter submitted to Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Heller argued that Yucca Mountain poses numerous health and safety risks to the people of southern Nevada and potentially catastrophic financial risks to the state’s tourism economy. He urged them not to fund the $120 million to restart the repository licensing process for Yucca Mountain.
• On March 20, 2018 Heller discussed DOE’s budget request with Secretary Perry at a U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing. Heller noted that the $120 million requested to fund licensing activities at Yucca Mountain was denied last year and that it will be denied again this year. 
• On September 26, 2017, Heller argued that Yucca Mountain is not the solution to our country’s nuclear waste problem in written testimony submitted to the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Interior, Energy, and Environment.
• On July 20, 2017, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee advanced the Senate’s Energy and Water Appropriations bill and unlike the version that passed the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, the Senate bill did not include funding for Yucca Mountain.
• On July 28, 2017, the Senate’s Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee advanced a bill that did not include the $120 million requested by the Department of Energy (DOE) to revive Yucca Mountain.
• On June 21, 2017, Heller submitted testimony to the U.S. Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee expressing his vehement opposition to the Yucca Mountain proposal.
• On June 20, 2017, Heller reacted to Secretary Perry’s comments at a U.S. Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, characterizing them as a “blatant disregard for the state of Nevada.”
• On June 6, 2017, Heller expressed concern after the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources voted to advance Dan Brouillette’s nomination for the deputy secretary position at the Department of Energy (DOE), the federal agency that has jurisdiction over the licensing activities at Yucca Mountain.
• On May 26, 2017, Heller reacted to the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) report detailing the lengthy and costly Yucca Mountain licensing process.
• On May 25, 2017, Heller spoke on the U.S. Senate floor and reiterated his concern with the President’s 2018 Fiscal Year budget request that included $120 million to restart the licensing activities for Yucca Mountain.
• On May 18, 2017, Heller spoke on the U.S. Senate floor to highlight the threat that Yucca Mountain poses not only to Nevada, but the entire country.
• On May 12, 2017, Heller spoke on the U.S. Senate floor to highlight Yucca Mountain’s threat to the Las Vegas economy.
• On April 27, 2017, Heller reaffirmed his staunch opposition to relicensing the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository to Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
• On April 26, 2017, Heller testified before a U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment hearing on legislation to revive Yucca Mountain.
• On March 29, 2017, Heller urged the Administration to drop its Yucca Mountain proposal, included in its FY2018 budget request.
• On March 16, 2017, Heller released a statement on the Administration’s FY2018 budget request, which included a proposal to revive Yucca Mountain.

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