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Talking Points on S. 1287
While the public hearing focuses on the draft Environmental Impact Statement for Yucca Mountain, the following information will help provide perspective on the status of high-level waste bills in Congress:
The Senate is scheduled to consider S. 1287 sometime later this year. The bill would establish a permanent storage site at Yucca Mountain for high-level radioactive waste.
In spite of a veto threat, Senator Murkowski, the author of S. 1287, has vowed to bring the bill.
The original legislation introduced in the Senate contained a provision which would have established an interim storage site for the waste at Yucca Mountain. This provision was the leading cause of his veto threat. This provision was deleted.
S. 1287 would provide the NRC with the authority to set radiation exposure standards at Yucca Mountain, rather than the EPA. This provision is now the leading cause of the Clinton Administration's veto threat.
The House bill, H.R. 45, has been reported out of the House Commerce Committee but also has not yet seen floor action in that chamber.
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