Incumbents Cruise in Congressional Races Affecting EM Sites

The press has been abuzz this week about what, according to the common wisdom, was the surprise election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States.

Here’s something not so surprising: All of the congressional races Weapons Complex Monitor looked at last week turned out as expected, with incumbents triumphing and the lone new guy, a Republican, winning in a reliably GOP-friendly state.

Here again is that list of lawmakers with some kind of stake in the legacy nuclear cleanup handled by the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management. You’ll continue to read about all of them in this space for the next two years (at least).

In the House:

• Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Savannah River Site.

• Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), Oak Ridge Reservation.

• Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

• Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), ranking member, House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee. The Portsmouth Site is in her state, but not her district.

• Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Los Alamos National Laboratory.

• Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Hanford Site.

• Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.), Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

• Rep. Tom Reed – (D-N.Y.), West Valley Demonstration Project.

• Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), chairman of the House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee. Idaho National Laboratory.

• Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce environment and economy subcommittee. Separations Process Research Unit.

• Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), Savannah River Site.

In the Senate:

• Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

• Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Paducah Site.

• Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Portsmouth Site.

• Sen, Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Idaho National Laboratory.

• Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Savannah River Site.

• Sen. Patty Murray (D- Wash), Hanford Site.

• Sen. Ron Wyden (R-Ore.), Hanford Site. The Columbia River, adjacent to the Hanford Site, divides Washington State and Oregon.

As for the new face, it’ll be Representative-elect James Comer (R-Ky.) representing the Kentucky district that includes the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. Comer defeated Democrat Sam Gaskins on Tuesday to claim the seat once held by Ed Whitfield, who resigned this year before the end of his term after an ethics probe.