WASHINGTON -- President Bush is again seeking a big increase in spending at Yucca Mountain. Once again, the Nevada congressional delegation is pledging to fight it.
Bush would spend $591 million at the proposed nuclear waste storage facility -- 57 percent more than in 2002 -- most of it aimed at applying for a federal permit in 2004. The proposal was contained in the $2.23 trillion budget the president sent to Congress on Monday for the government spending year that begins Oct. 1.
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said the president's budget would allow nuclear energy to play a role in the nation's future energy needs by "funding continued work on the Yucca Mountain waste disposal site," 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Federal money for the site fell from 2001 to 2002 from $392 million to $377 million, largely as a result of opposition from Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate's second-ranking Democrat.
Congress has not completed its work on this year's budget. In the Senate, Reid has succeeded in trimming Yucca Mountain's budget for this year to $336 million, although the total is subject to negotiation with the House.
"Forcing Nevadans to take deadly nuclear waste continues to be a priority for President Bush," Reid spokeswoman Tessa Hafen said. "And stopping the project continues to be Senator Reid's priority. He will continue working to cut the budget this year just as he has done over the past years."
The president had sought $591 million for this year, but two important factors have changed since his last budget request.
Bush formally approved and Congress ratified Yucca Mountain's selection, ending a 20-year debate over where to put the waste from the nation's commercial nuclear plants and defense facilities.
With Republican victories in November, Reid lost his chairmanship of the appropriations subcommittee that oversees Yucca Mountain's budget.
In the House, Republican Rep. Jim Gibbons, the state's senior representative, also will continue fighting the waste site's budget, spokeswoman Amy Spanbauer said. "We're never happy unless the budget line item is at zero," Spanbauer said.
The Energy Department hopes to begin in 2010 to bury 77,000 tons of commercial, industrial and military waste. The site is expected to remain radioactive for tens of thousands of years.
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On the Net:
President's budget proposal: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
