WATCH SENATOR MURRAY’S QUESTIONING (AT 52:14 mark)
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray
(D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Budget Committee, called on the Obama
Administration’s federal budget director nominee to deliver clear and
consistent budgets for cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and nuclear waste
sites throughout the country. Murray raised the issue in a nomination hearing
for Jacob J. Lew to be Director of the United States Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for the Obama Administration. Senator Murray has consistently held
both Republican and Democratic Administrations accountable for producing
budgets that meet the legal and moral obligation the federal government has to
clean up Hanford.
Murray’s questioning of Lew follows:
“I did want to also ask you about the EM program that
we talked about when you came to my office.
“It’s a program that’s responsible for meeting the
federal government’s legal and moral obligation to for nuclear waste across the
country
“Hanford in my state is extremely important.
“As you know, the EM mission is about 25 percent of
the DOE’s budget.
“I have been very clear with this Administration– we have to be consistent with
the funding on this. And meet our legal and moral obligations.
“This Administration has fallen short in meeting that
and that waste that remains in my state and across the country from the
Manhattan Project and Cold War efforts were from a war effort.
“And now that we are hearing that we may be seeing a 5
percent cut. I want you to really think about that fact this is defense spending,
and it can’t be just defense when it suits the government.
“And I want to talk with you about making sure that we
have robust annual budgets for EM that will meet those legal obligations that
we have to clean up Hanford and other sites around the country.
“And also your commitment to that and if you could
give that to me today I would appreciate it.”
Lew responded by saying:
“Senator, I understand the issue of dealing these
waste sites is very important.
“It’s critical not just at Hanford but in a number of
parts of the county and it is an important environmental and health and safety
challenge that we have to address.
“I, If confirmed will work with the staff at OMB and
the team at the Department of Energy to fully understand the issues and will
work with you to try and see if we can come up with the best possible
solution.”
Senator Murray responded:
“I assure you we will have many conversations because
this is extremely important.”
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