I would like to thank Hillary Clinton for taking a stand against Yucca Mountain. I would also like to say, "Shame on you Edwards and Obama!"
Last night, Hillary discussed the records of Sens. Obama and Edwards on Yucca Mountain:
CLINTON: Well I voted against Yucca Mountain in 2001. I have been consistently against Yucca Mountain. I held a hearing in the environment committee, the first that we’ve had in some time, looking at all the reasons why Yucca Mountain is not workable. The science does not support it. We do have to figure out what to do with nuclear waste. You know Barack has one of his biggest supporters in terms of funding, the Exelon Corporation, which has spent millions of dollars trying to make Yucca Mountain the waste depository. John was in favor of it twice when he voted to override President Clinton’s veto and then voted for it again. I have consistently and persistently been against Yucca mountain and I will make sure it does not come into effect when I’m president.
ALL OF HILLARY’S CLAIMS ARE SUPPORTED BY THE FACTS:
EXELON IS THE SIXTH LARGEST DONOR TO SEN. OBAMA’S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN AND THE FOURTH LARGEST CAREER DONOR TO SEN. OBAMA’S FEDERAL CAMPAIGNS: Exelon employees have donated over $269,100 to his federal campaigns and over$194,750 in 2008. [opensecrets.org, 2008, 2004-2008]
EXELON’S CEO IS A KEY ADVOCATE FOR STORING NUCLEAR WASTE AT YUCCA: "So what does Exelon Chief Executive Officer John Rowe want? Fortune magazine, in a May 15, 2006, article titled ‘Meet Mr. Nuke,’ details Rowe’s call to solve the waste problem before additional nuclear power plants are built. "We have to be able to look the public in the eye and say, ‘If we build a plant, here’s where the waste will go,’ " Rowe told Fortune. The Yucca Mountain Project is the ‘linchpin’ to solving the waste problem and building new plants."[Las Vegas Review Journal, 5/15/07]
EXELON HAS SPENT MILLIONS LOBBYING TO OPEN UP YUCCA MOUNTAIN:
- In 2002, Exelon spent $2,172,000 dollars on lobbying the federal government on issues including ‘Yucca Mountain Project Management’ [sopr.senate.gov, mid-year; year end]
- In 2003, Exelon spent $2,864,400 dollars on lobbying the federal government on issues including ‘Yucca Mountain Project Management’ [sopr.senate.gov, mid-year; year end]
- In 2004, Exelon spent over $1,000,000 dollars on lobbying the federal government on issues including ‘Yucca Mountain Project Management’ [sopr.senate.gov, mid-year; year end]
- In 2005, Exelon spent $1,815,000 dollars on lobbying the federal government on issues including ‘the Department of Energy’s Yucca Mountain Project.’ [sopr.senate.gov, mid-year, year-end]
- In 2006, Exelon spent $1,329,014 dollars on lobbying the federal government on issues including ‘the Department of Energy’s Yucca Mountain Project.’ [sopr.senate.gov, mid-year, year-end]
- In 2007, Exelon spent $1,732,321 dollars on lobbying the federal government on issues including the ‘Yucca Mountain National Interest...’ [sopr.senate.gov, mid-year]
JOHN EDWARDS VOTED TWICE TO OPEN-UP YUCCA MOUNTAIN TO NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE:
- Sen. Edwards voted for and against Yucca Mountain in 2000; in 2002, he supported Yucca Mountain again. "In February 2000, Edwards voted against a bill calling for nuclear waste storage in Nevada by the year 2007. But after President Clinton vetoed the bill, Edwards changed course and voted to override the veto. In July 2002, Edwards voted for President Bush’s designation of Yucca Mountain as the site of a nuclear waste repository." [Las Vegas Review-Journal, 2/12/04]
Hillary Clinton: In addition to speaking out against the project, Clinton used her position on the Senate’s environmental committee to hold public hearings critical of the dump.
John Edwards: As a senator from North Carolina, which depends on nuclear energy, Edwards voted in favor of Yucca Mountain. He has since changed his mind and now opposes the project. He also opposes the construction of new nuclear power plants.
Barack Obama: Obama hasn’t had to vote on the Yucca Mountain project during his tenure in the U.S. Senate; however, he has been supported by nuclear power companies in his state.
Here is Hillary speaking out against Yucca Mountain...
Here is my dedication to Edwards and Obama...
Update: I'd like to also remind everyone that when John Kerry picked Edwards as his running mate his Yucca Mountain vote became an issue...
John Kerry's choice Tuesday of U.S. Sen. John Edwards as his running mate was designed to balance the Democratic presidential ticket.
But in Nevada, the state's key issue -- the Yucca Mountain Project -- could tip the scales in a close election in a crucial battleground state.
Republicans said the North Carolina senator's vote supporting the nuclear waste repository softens Kerry's criticism of the Bush administration, which advocated the Yucca Mountain site.
Just read this article...
http://www.reviewjournal.com/...
It's very convenient that Edwards now tries to say he's against Yucca Mountain. He should have thought about it before voting for it twice.
Update 2: To those of you defending Obama on this issue...He is taking money from Exelon. Read the diary. Don't you think Exelon is expecting him to vote their way on issues. Why else would they donate so much money to him. They know the next President is going to play a big part in the Yucca Mountain project. They are trying to buy a President that will support their thinking on this.