Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) released the following statement on the Fiscal Year 2016 Continuing Resolution (CR) including funding for the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio:

“I have spent my time in Congress fighting the Administration efforts to cut funding for the cleanup work at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant and the uranium enrichment work being done at the American Centrifuge Project in Piketon, Ohio. These projects are critically important not only to the southwest Ohio economy, but also our national security.

“I am pleased to have worked with leadership in Congress and can confirm that we have secured funding in the Fiscal Year 2016 Continuing Resolution that allows the Administration flexibility to avoid disruption of the clean-up activities at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon.

“I plan to visit Piketon on Saturday to meet with USW workers and Piketon leadership to discuss the path forward. I remain committed to keeping pressure on this Administration to avoid disruption at Piketon and will discuss those efforts this weekend.”

Portman worked with Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Chairman of Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Speaker John Boehner, and the Ohio delegation to secure funding in the CR.

Below is the full text of Portman’s letter to Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) regarding Piketon:

Dear Chairman Cochran:

I write to request that the upcoming Fiscal Year 2016 Continuing Resolution include the following language, intended to prevent layoffs associated with the ongoing decontamination and decommissioning work being conducted at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio:

SEC. XXX. (a) Funds made available by section XXX for ‘‘Department of Energy—Energy Programs—Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund’’ shall be apportioned up to the rate for operations necessary to avoid disruption of continuing projects or activities funded in this appropriation.

(b) The Secretary of Energy shall notify the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate not later than 3 days after each use of the authority provided in subsection (a).

Similar language was included in H.J.RES 124, the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015.  Without this language, between 325 and 500 layoffs will take place at the site between October 22 and December 10, 2015.

As you are aware, the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Request underfunded the decontamination and decommissioning work in Piketon by more than $80 million.  This is the third year in a row that the Administration has failed to allocate the resources necessary for the site.  Thank you for working with me in the past to reverse the Administration’s decision, as hundreds of employees at the site would have been laid-off if Congress had failed to act. 

I respectfully request your assistance with ensuring that adequate funding is available in the Senate’s Fiscal Year 2016 full-year funding bill to ensure that employment levels are maintained at the Piketon site and that cleanup work can continue in an expeditious and safe manner.  I stand ready to work with you on this effort.

Thank you for your consideration of these important requests.

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