CBS NEWS: Yucca Mountain: did politics trump science?
BACKGROUND: Energy and Commerce Committee Launches Investigation into Administration’s Efforts to Pull the Plug on Yucca Mountain Nuclear Repository
The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy notified Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko that it is launching an investigation into the decision-making process to terminate the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository. Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Environment and the Economy Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL) are launching the inquiry after reviewing available evidence indicating there was no scientific or technical basis for withdrawing the application. In the wake of the tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan and uncertainty about the damaged nuclear reactors, Congress is demanding answers about the administration’s decision to halt development of the only permanent U.S. site for spent nuclear fuel.
DOW JONES: US House Republicans Launch Investigation Into Yucca Mountain Nuclear Site
U.S. House Republicans are launching an investigation into the Obama administration’s decision to abandon a planned nuclear-waste dump at Yucca Mountain, Nev., following up on pledges to use their control of the House to scrutinize the controversial move.
ASSOCIATED PRESS: House Panel Probes Plan to Halt Yucca Nuke Site
Reps. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and John Shimkus, R-Ill., said there is no scientific or technical basis for withdrawing the application for Yucca Mountain, the only permanent storage site in the U.S. designated for spent nuclear fuel.
“The tragic events unfolding in Japan underscore the urgent need for the United States to pursue a coherent nuclear policy to safely and permanently store spent nuclear fuel," Upton and Shimkus said in a statement.
CBN NEWS: ‘Power Grab’ Concerns Heat Up over Climate Change
Some in Congress are claiming the Obama administration is making an unconstitutional power grab. Concerned lawmakers say Obama administration bureaucrats are using global warming fears to start regulating greenhouse gases, without any control by Congress. They worry such a move will send energy costs soaring and halt the economy’s recovery.
FOX BUSINESS NEWS: Another Perk of Health-Care Law: Reimbursements for Unions, States, Cos.
WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Uncovered: New $2 Billion Bailout in Obamacare
Investigators for the House Energy and Commerce Committee have discovered that a little-known provision in the national health care law has allowed the federal government to pay nearly $2 billion to unions, state public employee systems, and big corporations to subsidize health coverage costs for early retirees. At the current rate of payment, the $5 billion appropriated for the program could be exhausted well before it is set to expire.
THE HILL: Republicans Question Health Reform Law’s Insurance Pools
During an Energy and Commerce oversight hearing Friday morning, Republicans lashed out at a new Obama administration report detailing $1.3 billion its given out to corporations, unions and state governments to help cover the cost of early retiree insurance. They are taking particular issue with the $36 million given to General Electric, which has come under fire for recent reports that it avoided income taxes in 2010.
