Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Democrats: Bush lied about Yucca

Former governor, U.S. representative, state legislators describe safety problems

On the eve of President Bush's trip to Nevada, Democratic leaders used the backdrop of busy downtown highways to denounce his support for a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.

Democrats on Monday said candidate George Bush lied in 2000 during a trip to Northern Nevada by saying he would not recommend construction of the repository 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas until science proved it safe.

"He immediately railroaded Nevada and broke the promises he made to Nevadans," former Gov. Bob Miller said from atop the parking garage of Main Street Station.

Bush was expected to arrive in Las Vegas at about 9:30 this morning and is scheduled to attend a town hall meeting on Medicare at Spring Valley Hospital before heading to a noon fund-raiser at The Venetian, which is expected to generate close to $1 million for Bush's re-election effort.

Democrats also asked voters the seminal presidential question: "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" and suggested the answer is no.

"Jobs have been lost, children have been left behind, and more people are without insurance," said Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas. "And now we are closer than ever to having nuclear waste in our back yards."

Democrats said local Republicans should not reward Bush with assistance.

Titus said she hoped some Republicans, such as Gov. Kenny Guinn and Attorney General Brian Sandoval, who oppose the repository, will question Bush about his Yucca decision.

"Ask the president why he broke the promise," Titus said.

Bush in February 2002 selected the flattop ridge to become the nation's burial ground for nuclear waste and directed his administration to continue working toward developing the site. The Energy Department is preparing an application, which must be approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission before construction can begin.

During Monday's news conference, traffic zipped along U.S. Highway 95 near signs announcing exits to Tonopah/Reno, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and the Strip.

U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, both focused on how the shipments of 77,000 tons of waste could be susceptible to terrorist attack.

"Does anybody really believe the federal government can do anything 100,000 times without an accident?" Perkins asked.

Berkley said Bush is also jeopardizing the safety of anti-terrorism training at the Nevada Test Site, on which Yucca Mountain lies.

"The most important training facility is going to be compromised by Yucca Mountain," Berkley said.

But she noted that shipments from 43 states will affect citizens nationwide.

"Millions of Americans will rue the day Congress approved this bill," Berkley said. "We in Nevada rue the day already."

The leaders said Democratic presidential candidates who have made statements against Yucca Mountain despite past actions in support of the project are still a better choice than Bush.

"First of all, they have not lied to Nevadans," Miller said. "Second of all, they have not lied to Nevadans. Third of all, they have not lied to Nevadans."

During a visit to Las Vegas on Monday morning U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said Nevada voters do not blame one party or one person over another.

"This issue goes back through Democratic and Republican administrations," Gibbons said.

He also questioned why Democratic filibusters employed in the U.S. Senate this week were not used during debate on the Yucca bill.

Filibusters were prohibited by procedures related to the repository selection under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.

Miller said that when he was governor he met with then-President Bill Clinton and presented the state's position on Yucca Mountain.

Clinton vetoed a bill to authorize interim storage of nuclear waste at Yucca, and Miller suggests a new Democratic president would turn to Assistant Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., for guidance.

"There's no way on God's green Earth that (Democratic presidential candidates) can be worse," Miller said.