Nuke Rest for the Wary

Lawmakers slash funding for Yucca Mountain nuke dump

In a season of setbacks for President Bush, Congress delivered yet another this week, cutting funding for the Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste dump well below the amount requested by the White House. House and Senate negotiators working on a funding bill for energy and water projects allotted $450 million for Yucca Mountain in 2006, not only below Bush's requested $650 million but far less than the project's $577 million budget for each of the past two fiscal years. Apparently ongoing delays at the Yucca site in Nevada have chilled estimations of the project's eventual success. "No matter what side of Yucca you're on," said Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), "the truth of the matter is Yucca is ... behind schedule." The Department of Energy responded via a spokesflack that it's still committed to opening the Yucca dump. Good lucka.