Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson assumed the role of Ranking Member today during a House Budget Committee hearing on Yucca Mountain and the long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste. In his role as Ranking Member, Simpson led Republican questioning of witnesses during the hearing.

In his opening statement, Simpson expressed dismay with the Obama Administration’s quick decision to abandon Yucca Mountain after decades of work and billions of dollars spent on the project. “We have spent nearly $10 billion studying Yucca Mountain as a permanent site for nuclear waste storage. This is easily the most comprehensive – and expensive – environmental study ever undertaken by this country or any other,” said Simpson. “There are over 1.5 million documents of evidence that have been prepared in analyzing Yucca Mountain. Yet after only six weeks in office, the Obama Administration somehow came to the judgment that Yucca Mountain is not a workable option for the storage of nuclear waste.”

Simpson continued, “The Administration’s only alternative solution? We need more studies.”

In questioning the wisdom of the Administration’s current plans, Simpson outlined the significant taxpayer liability resulting from the Department of Energy’s failure to remove nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel from sites across the country to a permanent geologic repository. The courts have already awarded nearly $1 billion in damages to utility companies that have been forced to pay fees to the government for nuclear waste disposal. DOE currently estimates their total liability at $12.3 billion and every year that Yucca is delayed adds another $500 million to that liability.

After the hearing, Simpson expressed his frustration with the Obama Administration’s approach to Yucca Mountain. “The simple truth is that our nation’s approach to the long-term storage of nuclear waste is being dictated by a campaign promise then candidate Obama made to Senator Reid,” said Simpson. “By choosing politics over science, this Administration is demonstrating that winning an election is more important than good policy and billions of taxpayer dollars. Regrettably, the Administration has not even considered, and cannot even estimate, the true costs that will be passed along to taxpayers as a result of this decision.”

Simpson is a member of the House Budget Committee, which establishes broad guidelines for funding, and a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development which establishes specific funding amounts for all programs within the Department of Energy, including the Yucca Mountain Project.