May '08 Nevada Government—Shelley Berkley Column

Berkley Salutes Dedication Of America’s Military Forces

and Veterans On Memorial Day

Congresswoman Shelley Berkley issued the following statement:

“Each Memorial Day we honor the memory of all those who gave their lives in the defense of the United States of America and we recognize the sacrifice and dedication of the men and women of our nation’s military. I salute not only these brave heroes, but the families and communities who have given so much in support of our armed forces. Serving as a member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs has also given me the opportunity to honor our troops and America’s 23 million vets by supporting increases in pay and benefits, more resources for healthcare – including vital mental health services – and an update of the GI bill that will allow more of our returning forces to attend college. We can never fully repay what the members of our armed forces have given us through their service to our nation. But we can improve VA care and we must continue modernizing the benefits earned by those serving in the military and the 23 million veterans in whose footsteps they follow.”

Update: Veterans’ Legislation Recently Passed by the House

· The Justin Bailey Veterans Substance Use Disorders Prevention and Treatment Act of 2008: To expand and improve health care services available to veterans from the Department of Veterans Affairs for substance use disorders. Named by Berkley in memory of Las Vegas Marine Lance Corporal Justin Bailey (H.R. 5554).

· Veterans Emergency Care Fairness Act of 2008: To provide reimbursement to veterans enrolled in the VA upon receiving emergency treatment in non-VA facilities (H.R. 3819).

· Veterans Benefits Awareness Act of 2008: Authorizes the VA to advertise in the national media to promote awareness of benefits to veterans under laws administered by the Secretary (H.R. 3681).

· Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2008: Increases the rates of disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors of certain service-connected disabled veterans, effective December 1, 2008 (H.R. 5826).

· HEART (Heroes Earnings and Relief Tax) Act: Expands homeownership opportunities for veterans by making thousands of veterans eligible for low-interest loans through changes to the qualified mortgage bond programs used to help veterans achieve home ownership (H.R. 6081).

· The Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008: Contains two provisions to assist veterans affected by the mortgage and foreclosure crisis. The first provision prohibits foreclosure of property owned by a service member for one year following a period of military service. The second provision provides a temporary increase to VA home loan limits (H.R. 3221).

Berkley Urges Nevadans To Sign Petition To NRC Opposing Yucca Mountain License

Seeks to Stop Proposed Nuke Waste Dump Outside Las Vegas

Congresswoman Shelley Berkley issued the following statement in support of a petition drive seeking to prevent consideration by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of a license application for the proposed Yucca Mountain repository 90 minutes outside Las Vegas. The text of the petition follows Berkley’s statement below:

“We are at a critical moment in our battle to keep nuclear waste out of Nevada. Now is the time to come together as never before and to make our voices heard. I am urging every Nevadan to add his or her name to this petition asking the NRC not to act on a license for Yucca Mountain given the dangers and lack of planning. Yucca Mountain is not safe, the science is flawed, and the transportation risks are too great to ever allow this $80 billion toxic garbage dump to open for business. The NRC has a duty to protect every American who will be put at risk by this scheme and the commissioners should listen to the majority of Nevadans and reject this application,” said Berkley.

A Petition To The Nuclear Regulatory Commission To Reject The License Application For A Nuclear Waste Dump At Yucca Mountain

We, the undersigned, petition the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to reject the Department of Energy’s (DOE) license application to construct the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump.

The DOE is proposing to dump 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste in Nevada after transporting it through counties home to over 106 million people.

Enduring these nuclear waste shipments will be communities from Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Florida, Arizona, Delaware, West Virginia, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Nevada.

That’s 45 states which could host nuclear waste routes. Yet there will be absolutely no public process to review these routes – not by the NRC, not by the DOE, and not even by the U.S. Department of Transportation. This is a massive and dangerous shipping campaign, but the NRC refuses to scrutinize it when considering DOE’s application to build the dump.

Furthermore, DOE does not even have complete plans to transport nuclear waste or to build the dump at Yucca Mountain, which is in an earthquake-prone environment. In fact, DOE readily admits that designs for the repository will be at most 35% complete when it asks NRC to license it.

Even worse, the Environmental Protection Agency has not decided what levels of radiation can be “safely leaked” from the dump. EPA has proposed a dangerously lenient radiation standard that completely disregards the health and safety of future generations. But, with less than half the designs for the dump complete, it is preposterous to think that NRC is in a position to decide that a nuclear waste dump could meet EPA’s terrible proposed radiation standard.

THE NRC SHOULD NOT DOCKET DOE’S LICENSE APPLICATION TO BUILD A NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN.