White House reassures Congress over withheld aid
A key White House figure in delaying aid to Ukraine last year reassured lawmakers Wednesday that the Trump administration realizes it is required under the law to spend money approved by Congress.
Acting budget director Russell Vought told the House Budget Committee that “we need to abide by the appropriation … passed by Congress” when distributing agency dollars.
Vought told reporters afterward that he doesn’t anticipate withholding Ukrainian aid again. ”I don’t anticipate anything on that front,” Vought said.
WASHINGTON — A Trump administration budget blueprint on nuclear waste storage appears to bolster one of the competing Senate plans to develop and place radioactive material at temporary sites until the Yucca Mountain stalemate is resolved or a permanent site selected.
The administration’s policy reversal and proposal mirrors the position put forward by the Nevada Commission on Nuclear Projects last year.
President Donald Trump eliminated requests for funding to continue licensing Yucca Mountain in his budget proposals for the Energy Department and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for fiscal 2021, which will begin Oct. 1.
Trump had proposed $120 million in the past three budget requests, but those were blocked by the House and Senate. This election-year budget includes only $27.5 million for development of an interim storage program.
Nevada lawmakers were encouraged by the president’s reversal but openly suspicious of the timing.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-tenn., a sponsor of legislation to authorize interim facilities, said Trump’s shift provides momentum.
“President Trump’s decision to embrace alternatives to storing waste at Yucca Mountain is welcome news,” said Alexander, who chairs the Senate Appropriations subcommittee for energy and water development.
It is imperative for the future of nuclear power to “solve the nuclear waste stalemate” that has resulted in stockpiling of radioactive materials at sites in 39 states since 1987, the senator said.
“There is bipartisan support for allowing consolidated nuclear waste at private facilities, and I look forward to working with the president to solve this problem,” he said.
Current law requires the federal government to take possession of the waste and directs that it be buried in a permanent repository. Allowing interim storage at private facilities would require congressional action.
Companies in New Mexico and Texas have signaled interest in temporary storage. But recent local opposition has grown in those states over environmental concerns, along with worries that short-term disposal sites could become permanent because of inaction on Yucca Mountain.
Yucca Mountain was designated in 1987 as the sole site for a permanent nuclear waste repository, but political opposition has stalled the project for more than three decades.
Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@ reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.