Domenici Opening Statement on Uranium D&D Fund
November 15, 2007
05:30 PM
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Pete Domenici, ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, today issued the following statementat today’s committee hearing on S. 2203, a bill to reauthorize the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund:
“Good morning, and welcome to all of our witnesses. I am pleased that Senator Bingaman scheduled this hearing to examine the Uranium Enrichment D&D Fund and the possible need to reauthorize payments into the Fund.
“That said, we have not had a hearing on this program since we created the Fund in the Energy Policy Act of 1992 fifteen years ago. We know very little about the operation of the Fund, the Department of Energy’s use of the monies thus far, or their future cleanup plans.
“It is somewhat perplexing to me, then, why the Committee has rushed to a legislative hearing on S.2203 that would simply increase annual deposits and extend the Fund for ten years. This seems premature, at best, to me.
“There have been tremendous changes in the past fifteen years in all of the circumstances surrounding the former DOE enrichment enterprise, its utility customers, cleanup technologies and plans, and a host of other variables that I am sure will affect our decision on reauthorization and the details of any legislation.
“With this in mind, I intend to proceed very thoughtfully and carefully to examine all of the issues related to reauthorization of the Fund and the legislative options that might be available. Hopefully, today’s hearing will be a good first step in that process.
“I look forward to the witnesses’ testimony.”
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