Rep. Newhouse to Push For More DOE Transparency and Accountability

Newly elected Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), whose district covers the Hanford site, plans to urge more transparency and accountability from the Department of Energy, the lawmaker said in an op-ed published yesterday. Newhouse took over this month after the retirement of longtime Rep. Doc Hastings. “I also intend to push for transparency and accountability from the Department of Energy, building on my predecessor Rep. Doc Hastings’ effective oversight of DOE’s management,” Newhouse said in an op-ed in the Tri-City Herald. “Just as taxpayers deserve cleanup efforts that continue apace, they also deserve openness related to the ongoing decontamination efforts at Hanford.”

 

Newhouse also emphasized in the piece that “the federal government has a moral and legal obligation to continue environmental cleanup efforts at the Hanford site. I grew up in the shadow of Hanford, and my recent visit to the storied Manhattan Project site underlined the fact that stable funding is crucial to maintaining the impressive progress made so far. We simply can’t afford the alternative.”