GOP says Bush will back plan for Yucca

Benjamin Grove

Wednesday, April 12, 2000 | 11:17 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Republican leaders in Congress on Tuesday hinted that their hopes of passing a nuclear waste bill are riding on presidential hopeful George W. Bush, who has been mum on the issue so far.

But one Nevada Bush supporter said an official announcement from the Texas governor outlining his position on nuclear waste storage was due "within a matter of weeks."

Pete Ernaut, formerly Gov. Kenny Guinn's chief-of-staff, said he was on a "short list" of strategists crafting a statement for Bush on the issue. Ernaut, who is now running Republican John Ensign's campaign for Senate, said he hoped Bush would make the statement at an event in Nevada in advance of the November election.

"I would caution people to not get too far out on the limb in their expectations of what Bush might say," Ernaut said. "I think they will be pleasantly surprised about what Gov. Bush will say."

Bush has not outlined his stance on the Yucca Mountain proposal or on the current nuclear waste bill. His Democratic challenger Al Gore has not condemned the Yucca plan but has sided with President Clinton in opposing the current bill.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, on Tuesday said they believe Bush as president would sign the bill that is now on its way to President Clinton and his certain veto.

"I think he (Bush) would want a resolution to this problem," Hastert said Tuesday.

Murkowski, the chief sponsor of the bill in the Senate, indicated that Bush was sympathetic to nuclear power plant operators and their problem of stockpiled waste.

"I have indications that he feels strongly that the nuclear industry makes significant contributions to the energy industry," Murkowski said.

Hastert and Murkowski on Tuesday attended a bill "enrollment ceremony" in the U.S. Capitol to officially send the Congress-approved nuclear waste bill to President Clinton for signature. When the bill hits his desk, Clinton has 10 days to sign or veto it. He has pledged veto several times.

Hastert and Murkowski made their comments about Bush during brief interviews after the enrollment ceremony. They said Bush seemed a nuclear energy ally, but added they had not communicated directly with Bush on the issue.

"It's not his job right now (to talk with the speaker of the House)" Hastert told the Sun.

Murkowski and Hastert were joined by fellow Republicans and key players in the push to ship nuclear waste to Nevada: Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho and Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich. Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., also attended. They acknowledged that their bill was doomed for now in Clinton's hands.

"The president, in my view, wanted to take the political route rather than the policy route," said Upton, who wants to get rid of nuclear waste stored in his state near Lake Michigan. "We want one safe place for nuclear waste."

The bill sets in motion the shipment of 77,000 tons of high-level radioactive waste to Nevada as early as 2007. The waste is now stored at 103 nuclear power plant reactors nationwide. Plant operators say they can no longer afford to store the waste, and they point to a contract the U.S. Department of Energy signed to take the waste off their hands by 1998.

The bill has long been a political football despite calls for "science over politics."

A spokesman at Bush's Austin campaign office made a familiar statement Tuesday, "Gov. Bush feels that such decisions should be based on the best science and that the federal government should work with the state and local government to address all concerns."

When pressed, spokesman Scott McClellan said, "I'll let the statement speak for itself."

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said Tuesday, "It's rather transparent what is going on here. George W. refuses to go on record opposing nuclear waste going to Yucca because he is for it. How many times does George W. have to be asked before he comes clean and gives people in Nevada an honest answer?"

Soon, Ernaut said.

"I'm chomping at the bit to tell you, but I can't," Ernaut said.

The enrollment ceremony itself became the focus of political volleys Tuesday. Berkley and Democratic Senate candidate Ed Bernstein attacked their Republican opponents for being aligned with Republican leaders in Congress.

Berkley noted that Hastert pushed the nuclear waste bill in the House just a few days after stumping for her opponent Jon Porter in Las Vegas. Porter has vowed to fight Hastert on the Yucca issue, despite his campaign support.

Porter today said the Yucca issue pitted "Washington against Nevada," not Republicans against Democrats. He stressed that Gore has not denounced the Yucca plan -- merely the current bill -- and noted that the Department of Energy's Yucca studies have proceeded for eight years under Clinton.

"It's unfortunate this has turned into a partisan issue," Porter said.

Bernstein fired off a statement Tuesday that said, "This public celebration by Republicans is an absolute outrage and an insult to the citizens of Nevada. John Ensign should be embarrassed that he let this happen."

Ernaut said Ensign had nothing to do with the event and had no way to stop it, calling Bernstein's statement "utterly silly." Ernaut again stressed Ensign's opposition to the Yucca plan.

Porter and Ensign were both in Washington Tuesday and today for meetings and fund-raisers.

Benjamin Grove covers Washington, D.C., for the Sun. He can be reached at (202) 628-3100 ext.269 or by e-mail at benjamingrove@lasvegassun.com