Dear Representative:

We urge you to support Representative Tom Udall’s amendment to strike Section 631 from H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act of 2005. We are deeply concerned with this provision, which gives a $30 million handout to the uranium industry, and we will consider including your vote on the Udall amendment on our annual scorecards.

Section 631 authorizes $30 million in federal spending to aid the uranium industry’s efforts to develop in situ leaching mining technology. This unnecessary act of corporate welfare subsidizes a mature industry that has existed in the United States for more than half a century, and does not need the government to hold its hand any longer. The U.S. already has an ample supply of uranium, and does not need to spend hard-earned taxpayer dollars to scour for new sources.

The fifty-year-old nuclear industry has benefited from cradle-to-grave subsidization for too long. These subsidies distort price signals and undermine the natural market forces of the energy industry. Section 631 is yet another example of the government’s wasteful support of nuclear power, an industry that cannot survive on its own.

This $89 billion energy bill is ballooning in cost, and at a time of unprecedented deficits it is the taxpayers of the next generation that will foot the bill. We urge you to oppose the energy bill, and to demonstrate your commitment to fiscal responsibility by supporting the Udall amendment. If you would like any more information, please contact Evan Berger at (202) 546-8500 x111.

Sincerely,

Jill Lancelot
President / Co-founder