Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Jon Porter called the administration’s budget proposal for Yucca Mountain a reckless waste of taxpayer funds. The president’s budget calls for $494.5 million for the Yucca project and is making it a top priority to file a license application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by June of 2008.

The proposal comes one week after an interim General Accountability Office (GAO) report cited the Department of Energy for spending a supplemental $25 million after scientists disobeyed quality control processes and reported faulty data on the water infiltration processes in March of 2005. The president’s FY 07 budget called for $544 million and $446 million was signed into law.

“While it is encouraging that the president’s request is less than FY 07, to ask for an additional dime for this doomed project is not only fiscally irresponsible but an insult to the residents of Nevada,” Porter said today, “How do my constituents feel safe about a high-risk project when the Department of Energy has admittedly played fast and loose with quality control procedures? Nevadans simply do not have confidence in this project and the American taxpayers are subsequently left with an exorbitant bill.”

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