Public Citizen blasts president

Benjamin Grove

Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2004 | 11:03 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's opposition to new terrorism security measures reflects his ties to five major industries -- nuclear power, hazardous materials transport, chemical manufacturing, ports and shipping, and water utilities, a public interest group said.

Bush's support for a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain is further evidence that Bush puts industry interests above security, Public Citizen said in its report "Homeland Unsecured," released Monday.

"We think this increases our vulnerability to terrorists," Public Citizen president Joan Claybrook said of the Yucca Mountain project.

Bush officials strongly denied the claim that Bush's national security decisions have been tainted by his relationship with industry leaders who resist new regulations.

Bush has done much to make the nation's infrastructure more secure from terrorist threats, Bush advocates say. The report and the timing of its release are cheap shots.

It's a "ludicrous charge" to suggest that Bush's ties to industry have hindered national security, Bush campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt said.

Infrastructure improvements are the No. 1 priority of the Department of Homeland Security, she said.

"President Bush bases his decisions on sound policy, not politics," she said.

The report said 85 percent of the nation's critical infrastructure is owned by the private sector. Business leaders in the five industries in the report raised at least $19.9 million for the Bush campaigns and Republican National Committee since the 2000 election cycle, the report said.

The Bush administration has opposed new regulations for industry, including new rules to ensure drinking water safety and rules to tighten security at chemical and nuclear plants and ports, the report said.

Thirty of the Bush "Rangers" and "Pioneers" -- campaign fund-raisers who raise $200,000 and $100,000 respectively -- come from the five industries, the report said.

The nuclear industry gave Bush nearly $8 million since 2000 and hazardous materials shippers gave about $2.9 million, the report said.

But nuclear industry officials say they have made significant security improvements on their own since Sept. 11.

Security forces were increased by one-third at 64 nuclear sites, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry's top lobby group.

By the end of the year, the nuclear industry will have spent $1 billion for security upgrades at nuclear plants, Nuclear Energy Institute spokesman Mitch Singer said.

"This is simply a rehashing of security concerns that have already been discredited," Singer said of the report.

Yucca waste containers are not terrorist-proof, and thousands of shipments to Yucca over decades would be inviting targets, Claybrook said in an interview.

But the massive waste-shipping campaign to Yucca could be conducted safely, industry leaders have said. The likelihood of a terrorist attack is remote, they say.

Public Citizen was founded in 1971 by Ralph Nader, but Nader is no longer affiliated with the group. The Washington-based consumer advocacy group has been highly critical of Bush policies, but has not endorsed a candidate.