Gordon’s Bill to Ban Foreign Nuclear Waste Passes House

Tennessee Congressman Bart Gordon’s bill to ban foreign radioactive waste passed the House today, after a lively floor debate.

A single opponent repeatedly called the bill anti-jobs and anti-trade, saying it would hamstring American companies from pursuing international nuclear disposal contracts.

The Murfreesboro Democrat countered that with limited room at the nation’s only dump devoted to radioactive waste, there’s a finite amount of business to be done, no matter what country it comes from. He held up a glass of water to make his point.

“I’m not sure how much water this cup will hold, but when it’s full, it’s full. Now I’m not sure, we can talk about how much radioactive material that the Utah site will hold, but when it’s full, it’s full and there will be no more left.”

Midway through the debate, Phil Roe stood up to speak. The East Tennessee Republican hadn’t been expected by either side. He wanted to know how the bill would affect firms in Oak Ridge that process nuclear materials.

Roe: “Is it a problem to have the waste shipped into this country and then shipped out, back to the country of origin or wherever its disposed of? We have a company in our district that does that.”

Gordon: “I understand that and I’m sympathetic to the company. I have talked with them personally and they have said that they don’t ship it all back, that they keep some of it here, but that’s not before us today. What we have before us today is a very simple proposition: is the United States going to be the only country in the world that uses our limited storage space to permanently dispose of tons and tons of radioactive waste from other countries?”

Roe and Brentwood Republican Marsha Blackburn were the only members of the state’s delegation to vote against the measure. The bill now heads to the Senate, where Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander is its sole sponsor.