Columnist Jeff German: Senators under the gun over nuke waste

Friday, March 1, 2002 | 4:27 a.m.

WHETHER THEY like it or not, Nevada's two senators, Harry Reid and John Ensign, have been thrust into the lead role in the latest battle against Yucca Mountain.

It's a role that's going to test their political mettle, as the fight to keep the nation's deadly nuclear waste out of Nevada moves to the Senate.

Within the next 45 days Gov. Kenny Guinn is expected to veto President Bush's recommendation to store the waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Once that happens, the Senate and the House will have an opportunity to override the governor with a simple majority vote.

Everyone has written off the Republican-controlled House as a pawn of the wealthy nuclear industry. But the Senate, run by the Democrats, is a different story. It's viewed as the state's best chance of sustaining Guinn's veto and killing the multibillion-dollar Yucca Mountain Project.

Reid wields much clout in the Senate as its assistant majority leader, and so he's bearing the brunt of the responsibility in the fight.

But Ensign, a Republican, is being counted upon to rally much-needed support within his party.

Together, Reid and Ensign believe they have as many as 34 senators on their side, 31 Democrats and 3 Republicans. They need another 17 votes to prevail over the president, but with nuclear plants in 34 states looking to unload their waste, that's going to be a difficult task.

Reid and his top aides were busy last week working their inside game in Washington to firm up the state's complicated and delicate strategy.

But their efforts were slowed because Ensign was missing in action on Capitol Hill for undisclosed personal reasons.

Ensign's absence also stalled attempts by the casino industry to find a couple of big-name lobbyists to help the senators round up their 17 votes.

Ensign is expected back this week, which means the pace should pick up inside the Beltway.

The casino industry, which has set aside $500,000 in its anti-Yucca Mountain war chest in Washington, has had a tough time finding lobbyists to do the job. It seems that just about every major lobbying firm in the nation's capital at one time or another has been on the nuclear industry's payroll.

But gaming's political operatives, now deeply involved in the fight, said late last week they believe they have found the right people, one from each party, to help Reid and Ensign.

Nobody, however, wants to tip off the nuclear industry and disclose the identities of the lobbyists until they're under contract. There's no need to give the bad guys a chance to derail any agreements.

Indeed, most of last week those on the Nevada side were revealing little about the state's game plan heading into the Senate battle.

It was an example of how serious the fight has become and how big a threat the nuclear industry poses to Nevada on Capitol Hill.

Reid, meanwhile, continued to put his own political career on the line last week.

He kept up his verbal attacks on Bush, this time calling him a "liar" in the national media for breaking his Yucca Mountain pledge to Nevadans.

Taking after the president, though it plays well at home, is a risky endeavor for Reid on the national political scene, considering how popular Bush is these days leading America's war on terrorism.

But that didn't seem to bother the senator last week.

He also took the bold step of joining a General Accounting Office lawsuit seeking to compel Vice President Dick Cheney to reveal which energy executives advised a task force that formulated the administration's energy policy.

Reid believes the disclosures will explain why Bush double-crossed Nevadans on Yucca Mountain.

The senator's participation in the GAO suit leaves little doubt that he has decided to play hardball with the administration.

It's something you have to do when you're thrust into the lead role in probably the most important battle ever for Nevada.