Obama Administration threatens veto on nuclear funding bill
A $35.4 billion energy and water spending bill approved earlier this month by the United States House of Representatives would give $936 million to nuclear energy programs in fiscal year 2016 — which begins on Oct. 1.
he nuclear portion of the bill would provide $175 million for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to continue Yucca Mountain licensing, among other things. The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) said they are happy with the decision.
“A comprehensive program to effectively manage used nuclear fuel must include completion of licensing activities for the Yucca Mountain repository,” NEI Senior Vice President for Governmental Affairs Alex Flint said in a statement. “The appropriation for that project is most welcome.”
The bill, HR 2028, also said that none of the funds may be spent on “actions that irrevocably remove the possibility that Yucca Mountain may be a repository option in the future.”
