Yucca Bill Could See Movement by End of Summer

House Deputy Republican Whip Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) sees the House moving on a Yucca Mountain bill by the end of the summer, he said yesterday at The Hill’s policy briefing, titled America’s Nuclear Energy Future. House Republicans have said that they plan to introduce at some point this year a bill that would incentivize the state of Nevada to host the repository in lieu of economic benefits and infrastructure improvements. “Yeah, I think we move a Yucca Mountain bill this summer,” Kinzinger said. “As you all know, it’s certified for 70,000 tons. We’ve heard that it could actually hold twice that, safely. I think we are in a position to move that out of the House. Harry Reid still holds a lot of power in the Senate until the end of this term, but I think we are in position to hopefully get this done. As you all know, the ratepayers have paid for this. This is something they continue to pay for. It’s the right thing to do.” Nevada, though, has maintained its opposition to the Yucca Mountain project, going so far as to say it would not enter into negotiations on the “unsafe” project.