H32 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE January 18, 2012 make sure that people understand their Mountain, where it is supposed to go, Ms. SEWELL. Mr. Speaker, today I choices, are able to articulate what the waste would be stored 1,000 feet un- rise to congratulate the University of they and their families want, and that derground—underneath, in essence, a Alabama Crimson Tide for being the their health care wishes, whatever they mountain. At Sequoyah, the waste is 25 2011 BCS champions. Roll Tide. may be, are respected. feet from the groundwater table. At The State of Alabama is still number This bipartisan concept got caught Yucca Mountain, it would be 1,000 feet one in . For the past 3 up in the madness of the 2009 political above the water table, and Yucca consecutive years, a team from the lie of the year—death panels—but it’s Mountain is 100 miles from the Colo- State of Alabama has won the national now time to revisit it. It’s overwhelm- rado River. Sequoyah is 14 miles from championship trophy. The University ingly supported by the American peo- the city of Chattanooga and 14 miles of Alabama has been the national ple, including the Tea Party and Oc- from Chickamauga Lake. champs twice in the last 3 years. cupy Wall Street. It costs nothing, and So why do I highlight these issues? The championship game between Ala- will help enhance the well-being of our Because of what happened in Japan bama and LSU represents college foot- families. with Fukushima Daiichi and the high- ball at its finest. Both schools have a There is a golden opportunity to level nuclear waste. proud and very rich tradition in foot- come together around a collective vi- A lot of the nuclear exposure was be- ball history, and the LSU Tigers should sion of rebuilding and renewing Amer- cause pools had dried up. The nuclear be commended for an outstanding sea- ica. This is happening at the State and waste heated up, and then you had al- son. While both teams deserve recogni- local levels as people are uniting most a worldwide catastrophe right tion, in the end, Alabama beat LSU around their visions and putting up next to the ocean. If we were doing with a final score of 21–0. money to achieve it. This is the fastest what was public policy in Federal law I want to congratulate the coaches, way to revitalize the economy and pro- in collecting our high-level nuclear staff, team, and the entire university family and fans for an amazing season. tect our quality of life, and the Federal waste and taking it to a desert under- It was your hard work, persistence, Government should be playing. neath a mountain, that would be a leadership, and commitment all season While I strongly support efforts to much more secure location than long that made this decisive victory correct the distorting and, in some around our major municipalities, our ways, corruption of the political proc- become a reality. streams, and our groundwater loca- The has had a ess by avalanches of secret money that tions. But, no, because of this adminis- long-standing tradition of excellence in are now savaging Republican can- tration and some political promises collegiate football. This year’s victory didates for the Presidential nomina- made in the last election cycle, they represented the 14th national cham- tion, there is another corrupting proc- have defunded and pulled off the table pionship title for the University of Ala- ess that is taking place for which there Yucca Mountain from consideration. bama. Since being founded in 1892, the are no constitutional barriers to reme- In 1982, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act Crimson Tide football program has diate—the legislative redistricting made the Federal Government respon- achieved 813 victories in the NCAA Di- process. In most States, it’s a scandal sible for checking waste. Since that vision I and 26 conference champion- where politicians pick the voters rath- time, $9 billion and 20 years was spent ships. The Crimson Tide also sets an er than voters being able to pick the studying for a suitable location. That NCAA record with 58 post-season bowl politicians. We all ought to identify study ended in Yucca Mountain. appearances. The Tide leads the SEC with reform efforts that are emerging b 1010 West Division with seven division titles in this area. In 1987 Congress named Yucca Moun- and seven appearances in the SEC These are five simple steps that don’t Championship Game. tain the sole candidate site for a per- cost money and certainly, in the long This entire team deserves recogni- manent repository, and then in ’94 DOE run, will save money while they en- tion and honor. I want to especially ac- hance the integrity of the system. published scientific results dem- knowledge , who was They can strengthen the economy onstrating Yucca as capable of pro- a Heisman Trophy finalist and winner while revitalizing the political process tecting public health and safety; in ’98, of this year’s Nation’s Most Out- and addressing the frustrations of both the statutory deadline for DOE to com- standing . I would also Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party. mence disposal of spent nuclear fuel. like to acknowledge , f So we pay these nuclear utilities who was the 2011 win- money to hold their own waste that we ner for the Nation’s best interior line- NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE IN should be collecting based upon Fed- TENNESSEE man in college football. eral law. This championship team also in- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The In 2002 we voted here, and the Presi- cludes six players who were selected for Chair recognizes the gentleman from dent and Congress approved Yucca as the 2011 Associated Press All-America Illinois (Mr. SHIMKUS) for 5 minutes. the site repository. DOE issued a li- Team: , Dont’a Hightower, Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, it’s cense application in 2008, and then in Barrett Jones, Trent Richardson, great to be back down on the floor, 2009 President Obama announced plans , and Dre Kirk- back to being in Washington, DC, to to terminate Yucca Mountain after $15 patrick. This year’s team was truly a continue with what I spent most of my billion spent in studying this site. force to be reckoned with. time last year doing, which was ad- And I’ll close with this: Would you This win not only represents a vic- dressing the high-level nuclear waste rather have nuclear waste 14 miles tory for the University of Alabama issues in this country. from a major metropolitan area next to football team, but it also is a unifying Today, we go to the great State of a lake or would you rather have high- victory for the State of Alabama, who Tennessee, and identify a location level nuclear waste hundreds of miles suffered so much during the devasta- where there is presently high-level nu- from the major, largest city, 100 miles tion of the April tornados. This victory clear waste stored and compare that to from a river, underneath a mountain, shows the resilient spirit of Alabam- the site that was picked and that is in in the desert? ians and reflects our hope for a better Federal law right now, which is the Public policy, good public policy de- future. high-level nuclear waste depository mands that we move forward on Yucca I speak on behalf of the constituents scheduled to occur in Yucca Mountain. Mountain. of the Seventh Congressional District, First of all, this is Sequoyah in Ten- f the great State of Alabama, and this nessee, where there are over 1,094 MTU Nation as I express how proud we are of of spent nuclear fuel onsite. At Yucca CONGRATULATING UNIVERSITY OF the players, coaches, and athletic staff Mountain, which is in the desert in Ne- ALABAMA ON 2011 BCS CHAM- of the University of Alabama for mak- vada, there is currently no nuclear PIONSHIP ing this victory possible and helping waste onsite. At Sequoyah, the waste is The SPEAKER pro tempore. The our communities heal. stored above the ground in pools and Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from I also want to thank Representative dry casks. If we were to put it in Yucca Alabama (Ms. SEWELL) for 5 minutes. CASSIDY of Louisiana for being such a

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