NIRS Delivers Letter Urging Senate to Remove $50 Billion in Loan Guarantees From Stimulus Bill
February 4, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Michael Mariotte, Executive Director
243 GROUPS/SMALL BUSINESSES URGE SENATE TO REMOVE $50 BILLION IN NUCLEAR POWER & COAL PORK FROM STIMULUS BILL
Reflecting deepening public and Congressional concern that the Senate economic stimulus bill contains too much traditional pork barrel spending with no stimulative effect, 243 organizations and small businesses, and including musicians Bonnie Raitt, Graham Nash and Paul Winter, today urged the Senate to remove a provision from the bill that would allow $50 Billion in taxpayer loan guarantees to fund construction of new nuclear reactors and "clean coal" projects.
The provision was added to the original bill by the Senate Appropriations Committee, at the urging of Utah Senator Robert Bennett, who ironically has announced he will vote against the bill in any case. A February 3 Washington Post article on the provision and Bennett's role is at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/02/AR200902...
The letter pointed out that the $50 Billion could not provide an economic stimulus, stating, "This loan guarantee program is already highly controversial and loaded with money for polluting technologies like nuclear power and "clean coal." Adding more money to this program would have absolutely no stimulative effect on our economy, since no nuclear reactors or "clean coal" plants can be built over the two year period supposed to be covered by this bill."
The groups noted that the Congressional Budget Office has predicted a 50% default rate among utilities that would use the loan guarantee program to build new reactors. And the groups also pointed out the little-known fact that the loans would not come from the private sector, but from the U.S. Treasury itself:
"We also note that the structure of the program is such that the most expensive and riskiest nuclear projects--those where the utility seeks the maximum 80% of project costs--would be financed not by private capital, which will not invest in nuclear power--but directly from the U.S. Treasury through the Federal Financing Bank. We are not willing to be bankers for new nuclear reactors or "clean coal" boondoggles."
The letter and signatories can be viewed at: http://www.nirs.org/neconomics/lgltrsigners.pdf.
On February 2, 20 national environmental and consumer groups also urged the Senate to drop the loan guarantee provision. That letter is at: http://www.nirs.org/neconomics/finalsenateletteronstimulusbill.pdf
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Michael Mariotte, Executive Director
243 GROUPS/SMALL BUSINESSES URGE SENATE TO REMOVE $50 BILLION IN NUCLEAR POWER & COAL PORK FROM STIMULUS BILL
Reflecting deepening public and Congressional concern that the Senate economic stimulus bill contains too much traditional pork barrel spending with no stimulative effect, 243 organizations and small businesses, and including musicians Bonnie Raitt, Graham Nash and Paul Winter, today urged the Senate to remove a provision from the bill that would allow $50 Billion in taxpayer loan guarantees to fund construction of new nuclear reactors and "clean coal" projects.
The provision was added to the original bill by the Senate Appropriations Committee, at the urging of Utah Senator Robert Bennett, who ironically has announced he will vote against the bill in any case. A February 3 Washington Post article on the provision and Bennett's role is at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/02/AR200902...
The letter pointed out that the $50 Billion could not provide an economic stimulus, stating, "This loan guarantee program is already highly controversial and loaded with money for polluting technologies like nuclear power and "clean coal." Adding more money to this program would have absolutely no stimulative effect on our economy, since no nuclear reactors or "clean coal" plants can be built over the two year period supposed to be covered by this bill."
The groups noted that the Congressional Budget Office has predicted a 50% default rate among utilities that would use the loan guarantee program to build new reactors. And the groups also pointed out the little-known fact that the loans would not come from the private sector, but from the U.S. Treasury itself:
"We also note that the structure of the program is such that the most expensive and riskiest nuclear projects--those where the utility seeks the maximum 80% of project costs--would be financed not by private capital, which will not invest in nuclear power--but directly from the U.S. Treasury through the Federal Financing Bank. We are not willing to be bankers for new nuclear reactors or "clean coal" boondoggles."
The letter and signatories can be viewed at: http://www.nirs.org/neconomics/lgltrsigners.pdf.
On February 2, 20 national environmental and consumer groups also urged the Senate to drop the loan guarantee provision. That letter is at: http://www.nirs.org/neconomics/finalsenateletteronstimulusbill.pdf