Ensign concedes Kerry better for state on Yucca

Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2004 | 11:13 a.m.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said Monday that when it comes to the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is better for Nevada than President Bush.

Last week Ensign attacked Kerry's Senate voting record on Yucca Mountain, citing the Massachusetts senator's favorable vote for the 1987 Nuclear Waste Policy Act Amendments, known in the state as the "Screw Nevada Bill," although it was tucked into budget legislation.

Under a barrage of questions by Jon Ralston on "Face to Face With Jon Ralston," aired on Cox Cable channels 1 and 19, Ensign said Monday that "on this one issue he's been better than George Bush, but that's on one issue."

Ralston pressed the senator on the issue, noting that Bush said he based his decision on sound science.

"Obviously, it's something that I personally disagree with, that science," Ensign said. "The National Academy of Sciences disagrees with the science."

The National Academy of Sciences told the Energy Department that there was no scientific basis for a 10,000-year limit on radioactive ground water contamination and that the threat of contaminating the ground water would extend for thousands of years.

Ralston asked Ensign why the senator, Gov. Kenny Guinn and Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., didn't go to Bush on the nuclear waste repository.

"It is a major issue, but there is a global war on terrorism, there is the economy, there are many other issues," Ensign said. "John Kerry is a left-wing Massachusetts liberal that does not reflect the values of Nevadans. On this one issue he's been better than George Bush, but that's on one issue."

Ensign, who said he has been to many Senate intelligence briefings in recent months, said the Bush administration is listening to increasingly alarming information on terrorism, especially in the past month.

"There is no question they (Bush administration) are afraid something is going to happen before the election," Ensign said.

Although financial institutions in New York City, Newark, N.J., and Washington, D.C., were named as terrorist targets on Sunday, Ensign said there is still no specific time or threat.

"We're better prepared, but we still have a long way to go," Ensign said of coordinating 15 intelligence agencies at the domestic and international levels.

Las Vegas has been mentioned as among the top cities targeted by Al-Quaida for future terrorist activities. Sheriff Bill Young has said that he would instinctively put Las Vegas in the top six target cities.

"His gut and my gut say the same thing," Ensign said.

When Ralston asked Ensign if the terror alert change could be politically motivated, Ensign said of the Bush administration, "They're trying to be honest and make us safer. It's impossible, in my opinion, to say that what they're doing is political."

When the GOP convenes its national convention in New York City at the end of the month, Ensign said he'll attend events at the main convention hall, but will avoid parties outside the security belt.