Senator Murray: “A lot of Presidents will try to trim the budget when it comes to Hanford, my job is to make them remember their moral and legal obligation to this community—and that’s exactly what I’ll keep doing in the other Washington.”
Tri-City Herald: ‘Unprecedented.’ White House changes Hanford spending request to Congress – READ MORE HERE
Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) issued the following statement on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) submitting a budget amendment for the President’s funding request for cleanup of the Hanford site—the amendment would put the President’s budget request slightly above what Senator Murray secured in the fiscal 2022 budget at $2.613 billion. Murray secured $2.595 billion for the Hanford site cleanup in the fiscal 2022 budget.
OMB’s submission of a budget amendment comes after public and private calls by Senator Murray that the Biden Administration meet its legal and moral obligation to fully fund cleanup of the Hanford site, including an exchange between Senator Murray and Secretary Granholm in May of 2022 and a Senate Budget Committee hearing in March of 2022 where Murray raised funding for the Hanford site with OMB Director Shalanda Young as well.
“This is a good step in the right direction by the Biden Administration and I’m glad that Secretary Granholm and Budget Director Shalanda Young are hearing my concerns about funding for the Hanford site loud and clear—but we still have a long way to go. I have been unequivocal for my entire Senate career—the federal government has a moral and legal obligation to clean up the Hanford site, and securing the necessary funding over the next few years in particular will be critical to the overall success of the cleanup.
“We need to build off the funding I secured in the last government spending package—and this budget amendment helps us do that. Sooner or later, the bill will come due and the sooner we get Hanford cleaned up, the better off we will all be—so I will keep pushing for as much funding as I can get on the Appropriations Committee.
“I’ve said it before: a lot of Presidents will try to trim the budget when it comes to Hanford, my job is to make them remember their moral and legal obligation to this community—and that’s exactly what I’ll keep doing in the other Washington.”
In the FY22 government funding package, Senator Murray secured $2.595 billion for the Hanford site cleanup—notably, this was $128 million above the President’s Budget Request. As she negotiates funding for the fiscal 2023 budget, Senator Murray is fighting to build on the previous budget’s funding and the increased request by the President, which comes after her urging, will be critical as she seeks to secure the strongest possible funding for the Hanford site cleanup.
Senator Murray has led the fight in Congress to secure funding for the cleanup at the Hanford Site, protect workers, and support the Tri-Cities communities. When Secretary Granholm appeared before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy & Water in June of 2021, Senator Murray pressed her on the need for full funding of Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) for Hanford to compensate local governments. In March 2021, Senator Murray reintroduced the Toxic Exposure Safety Act which would make it easier for workers at the Hanford site and other nuclear clean-up sites to receive the full benefits they’re entitled to when suffering from illnesses due to toxic exposure on the job.
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