The prophesied pre-Thanksgiving vote on Rep. John Shimkus’ (R-Ill.) Yucca Mountain policy overhaul appears unlikely now, with Congress set to break for the holiday and appropriators bristling that the bill infringes on their power of the purse.
The House was not in session Friday. Both the House and Senate are scheduled to be in recess all of next week, with the lower chamber returning on Nov. 28.
Late last month, Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.) predicted the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017 could get a vote in the House before Thanksgiving. That crystal ball appears to have shattered now, with the bill still awaiting consideration by the House Rules Committee.
Moreover, a Shimkus spokesperson confirmed this week that House appropriators have raised questions about mandatory spending the bill proposes. This includes payments from the Nuclear Waste Fund to cover operations at the proposed nuclear-waste repository, and a so-called “benefit agreement” with the state of Nevada.
Congressional appropriations committees have sole authority to fund federal projects from the U.S. Treasury, though other committees — such as the House Energy and Commerce Committee that approved Shimkus’ bill in June — may authorize such appropriations.
The Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017 would smooth the way for the federal government to build a permanent nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nye County, Nev. Nevada’s state government and substantially its entire congressional delegation oppose the plan.
Overall, the legislation would expedite the transfer of responsibility for the federally owned Yucca property from the Interior Department to the Energy Department, and clarify that the 147,000-acre site will be used, with a few exceptions, only for nuclear waste disposal.
The bill has been on the House calendar since late October, making it eligible for, though not certain of, a floor vote. Last month, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the measure would create some $1.8 billion in new government costs for the 10 years ending in 2027.
That includes a little less than $300 million in payments to state and local governments affected by Yucca, and a little more than $1.5 billion in lost government revenue, as the bill would prohibit fees on nuclear power until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission authorizes DOE to build Yucca.
