Only GOP will get Armey’s ear on Yucca

Erin Neff

Monday, Jan. 21, 2002 | 9:45 a.m.

House Majority Leader Dick Armey entered the partisan fray over Yucca Mountain last week, raising the political ante for local Republicans whose congressional races could determine the balance of power in Washington.

In an interview with the Sun, Armey, R-Texas, said the best way Nevadans can fight Yucca Mountain is by electing Republicans to Congress.

"Let's say next year John Ensign comes to me, Jim Gibbons comes to me, Lynette Boggs McDonald comes to me and Jon Porter comes to me," Armey said, referring to the Republican senator, congressman and two Republican candidates respectively, "I'll listen to them.

"If Shelley Berkley comes to me, I'm pretty interested in saying, 'Forget it,' " he added, referring to the Democratic incumbent.

Armey, who was in town to raise money for the GOP and to endorse Boggs McDonald, drove past dozens of protesters en route to a fund-raiser in Summerlin.

Armey deflected criticism of himself by attacking Berkley as "the most liberal Ted Kennedy-like person in Congress."

"If Shelley Berkley comes up and says 'Dick, I really want you to save me from some grief,' I'm not interested," Armey said. "What has Shelley Berkley done as a member of Congress to make me happy?

"Why would I support somebody who's going to vote down my tax cut?"

Berkley's spokesman, Michael O'Donovan, said he wasn't surprised by Armey's statements.

"His record is so long and clear on the subject," O'Donovan said. "(Shelley) has had a fantastic record of success in fighting Yucca Mountain.

"Her defense of Nevada in this has been a thorn in the side of the Republican leadership, and they want to get her out."

Thus continued the partisan bickering that began the moment Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham recommended Yucca Mountain as the site to hold 77,000 tons of the nation's nuclear waste.

The mountain 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas had been generating Nevada-vs.-the-nation fire for years. But now that the timeline for final approval has been set in motion during an election year, it's each party for itself.

Democrats immediately criticized Gov. Kenny Guinn and vowed to use Yucca Mountain as an issue to help the party in two of Nevada's congressional districts.

Boggs McDonald was criticized by Democrats for attending the Armey fund-raiser and receiving campaign money from House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., who recently praised Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's decision to recommend approval of Yucca Mountain.

Boggs McDonald defended her decision sharply.

"Nobody's going to deny me the opportunity to talk to the leaders of Congress," she said.

National Democrats have launched an assault to win back the House of Representatives, keying on the race for Nevada's new district and working to keep Berkley in office.

Clark County Commission Chairman Dario Herrera, a Democrat, is running against Republican state Sen. Jon Porter in Nevada's 3rd Congressional District.

With his party holding a six-seat margin in the House, Armey told the Sun that Republicans don't need to win either Nevada's 1st or 3rd Congressional Districts to hold the leadership.

"We're just looking to increase our margin," Armey said.

Telling Nevadans to vote Republican to save them from nuclear waste is ironic, given Armey's past support of Yucca Mountain. He also failed to mention the fact that he's retiring from Congress and might not play a role in a Yucca decision if a vote goes into next year.

Abraham cannot officially tell President Bush his decision until Feb. 10 or later. Guinn has 60 days after that -- until April 10 -- to veto the decision, and he has vowed to wait until the last day.

Congress would get a chance to override the veto 90 days later -- putting any action at July 10 at the earliest. A vote could come months later, possibly after the elections.

Armey said Friday "he doesn't particularly have a dog in the hunt on nuclear storage," but he voted in the past to fast-track shipments of waste to Yucca Mountain. An alternate repository site in Texas was considered until Congress in 1987 designated Nevada the only site to be studied.

Armey said he "respected and admired" Boggs McDonald's stance on Yucca Mountain because it showed him she stands true to her convictions.

But Armey said that even if Nevada sends three Republicans to Congress next year, it doesn't mean anyone in leadership will change their minds on Yucca Mountain.

"I can't promise that," he said. "I'm not saying we'll change our tune, but we'll certainly listen to them."

Armey said that in 1996 he listened to then-Reps. John Ensign, and Barbara Vucanovich and then-candidate Jim Gibbons about Yucca Mountain.

The three Republicans convinced him to take a vote on Yucca Mountain off the calendar. Meanwhile, Armey said, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., gave an impassioned but losing speech on the Senate floor.

"What happened in 1996 is they got us to pull the vote off the floor, but Harry Reid was more celebrated by the press," Armey said. "Had they not kept it off the floor, the vote would have gone through."

Armey deflected a question about what he would do to persuade Republicans to vote against Yucca Mountain by saying, "Don't ask me what I will do. I have already done more than Harry Reid."