Nuclear powers charge Bush’s campaign

Benjamin Grove

Sunday, June 4, 2000 | 8:33 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Power players connected to the nuclear industry are pouring money into the George W. Bush campaign, barely dropping a dime on his opponent, Al Gore, a review of campaign funding records shows.

Since the beginning of last year, 20 political action committees set up by electric companies with nuclear power plants have given Bush $61,670, according to an analysis by FECInfo, a Washington-based group that tracks campaign money.

Gore accepts no PAC money and therefore has received nothing from nuclear-power related companies.

Bush critics -- especially Nevada Democrats -- say the Bush donations suggest he is more sympathetic to nuclear power officials who want to construct a permanent dump for the nation's high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

"Bush is so close to the nuclear industry that when you turn off the lights he glows in the dark," Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., said.

Bush supporters in Nevada disagree.

The Texas governor raised about $700,000 on Thursday during his first campaign trip to Nevada for a speech and fund-raiser. The money came mostly from gaming interests.

"I don't read anything into these (nuclear industry) contributions at all," Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said.

Bush's highest-profile supporter in Nevada, Gov. Kenny Guinn, declined to comment on the donations. But his spokesman stressed that Guinn has met with Bush and is comfortable with his position on Yucca.

"It's foolish to assume that that (campaign money) would have that much influence on him," Jack Finn said. "We have his statement, we have his word, and there is no reason to believe that he would go back on his word."

State leaders have been locked in a partisan battle over which candidate would be more likely to support the Yucca plan -- Bush or Gore. Both candidates have released nearly identical statements stressing that their decisions about the plan will be based on "sound science," not politics.

Gore campaign officials say the vice president is the best candidate for Nevada.

"This is the kind of issue that draws a clear distinction between the candidates up and down the ticket," Gore spokesman Doug Hattaway said. "The nuclear industry certainly has the ear of Gov. Bush, just as the oil and other polluting industries have his ear back in Texas."

Buying access

Other Bush critics say campaign donations prove that the nuclear industry is buying access to Bush.

Bush has received a number of donations from nuclear energy officials and company executives nationwide.

For example, of 23 board members at the Nuclear Energy Institute who have made personal campaign donations to a presidential candidate, 17 wrote checks to Bush, totaling $37,000. Three gave money to John McCain; one gave to Elizabeth Dole; one gave to Bill Bradley; and one gave Gore $2,000, although that money was returned two months later.

And Bush has called on friends at nuclear power plants in Texas. William Cottle, the president and CEO of STP Nuclear Operating Company, which operates two of four nuclear reactors in Texas, gave Bush $1,000 in April 1999.

More impressively, TXU chairman and close Bush ally Erle Nye handed Bush a $20,000 check on Dec. 30, plus $1,999 in other donations last year, according to FECInfo data. Nye also is chairman of the NEI Board of Directors. TXU, formerly called Texas Utilities Company, with $40 billion in assets, 9 million electric customers and operations in Mexico, Australia and Europe, operates the other two nuclear reactors in Texas.

In addition to Nye, seven of 10 members of the TXU board of directors also gave personal donations to Bush, totaling $7,500. Two TXU company PACs gave Bush another $5,000 last year. Nye declined to comment on Bush's stance on nuclear issues. Nye declines all interviews about his relationship with Bush, a spokeswoman said.

Gore's home state of Tennessee also has nuclear power plants: three reactors operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority. But the TVA is an arm of the U.S. government, not a private company, and doesn't give money to candidates.

Only one of the TVA's 10 executive officers and one of two TVA directors made any personal donations to Gore. No TVA officers gave to Bush.

Nuclear energy officials downplay the donations going mainly to Bush. They stress that electric companies with nuclear power plants may donate to candidates for a number of reasons.

To suggest that a company made a donation based solely on the Yucca Mountain issue is "one hell of a stretch," an industry spokesman said.

"I would emphasize that given the fact that individual utilities have a number of issues that they are concerned about, it would be false and misleading to imply that the actions of any one of them is representative of the industry," NEI spokesman Steve Kerekes said.

Kerekes said NEI speaks for the industry in Washington, and NEI does not donate money to presidential candidates as a matter of policy.

But NEI routinely makes contributions to members of Congress, primarily those who support the Yucca proposal.

Yucca supporters

For instance, NEI routinely gives money to the Senate's leading Yucca supporters, Sens. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Larry Craig, R-Idaho. NEI in May 1999 gave $1,000 to the Texas Freedom Fund, a PAC established for vocal Yucca advocate Rep. Joe Barton, R-Tex. Barton's PAC gave Bush $5,000 in June 1999.

It's clear the nuclear industry thinks Bush is a bigger supporter of the Yucca plan than Gore, Bush critics say.

"If you go back to the Nixon administration, the days of Deep Throat, the clarion call was: Follow the money," Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said.

"If you follow the money, it will tell you exactly where Bush stands. And the two parties could not be more different than they are on the issue of storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain."

Bryan said Bush's four-sentence statement on nuclear waste storage, released May 3, was flimsy compared to what President Clinton has done: veto a nuclear waste bill. Gore has been allied with Clinton on the issue, Bryan said.

"There is circumstantial evidence here that clearly indicates where he stands," Bryan said. "The nuclear industry would support Bush any day of the week. I don't think there is even room for debate on that."

That's probably true, UNLV political science instructor Ted Jelen said. Jelen said that normally PACs hedge and give to both candidates. But Gore is so closely tied to the environment that the nuclear industry leaders can "use a rifle rather than a shotgun approach" in doling out money, Jelen said.

"The nuclear power industry figures it's getting a much better friend in a Bush administration than Gore," Jelen said. "They know their enemies, they know Gore is not a likely ally."

Bush is friendlier in general with big business, said Sheila Krumholz, research director for the Center for Responsive Politics, another Washington group that tracks campaign money.

"It's not unlikely that the Bush campaign is more naturally aligned with the energy industry because of its importance in Texas," Krumholz said. "He has had more of an alliance with traditional businesses, like energy. It's a historically conservative industry as far as campaign contributions go."

Bush has raised a record total $81.5 million through the end of April from both PACs and individual donors, according to the Federal Election Commission. Gore had raised $33.1 million, plus $10.6 million he received in federal money. Bush can spend as much as he raises because he receives no federal funds, but Gore is limited to spending $40.5 million before the August Democratic National Convention.

Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush was grateful for all of his donations, inside and outside the nuclear industry.

McClellan declined to talk about Bush's relationship with nuclear industry executives and how influential they are with the governor.

"He has made his position on nuclear waste disposal clear," McClellan said. "Any decision should be based on sound science."

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