"I have personally asked Bob Card, DOE Undersecretary for Energy, Science and Environment and Jessie Roberson, Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management to come to Oak Ridge to take a first-hand look at our clean-up needs. I will join them in Oak Ridge next week. They are both hands-on leaders and I am working closely with them."

"The announcement of a letter of intent between the Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency and Washington State officials to accelerate clean up at the Hanford site should not be a surprise. Hanford has the largest and most challenging clean-up needs of the entire DOE complex."

"I have been briefed by top DOE officials on the progress being made to reach an agreement for Oak Ridge's participation in the accelerated clean-up program. While the expedited clean-up increase for Oak Ridge would not be as large as the Hanford figure, ORO is aggressively pursuing a portion of these funds and we look forward to successfully participating in this program."