Shelley Berkley

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this motion to instruct conferees, Mr. Speaker. Aviation security is national security, and our government has the ultimate responsibility to ensure our national security. Last week, at the very time when we were debating this bill on the floor, the FAA closed one of the terminals at JFK Airport after screeners were allowing passengers to enter the concourse without being adequately checked. Yesterday, screeners allowed a man to bring seven knives and other weapons through a security checkpoint at O'Hare International Airport. This system is broken. Passengers and baggage screeners are the front line of law enforcement in our airports. Law enforcement is a public responsibility. Highway troopers are public employees, not subcontractors of the road building industry. When we call 911, we are calling public law enforcement. Firefighters, police, and emergency personnel are public, not private, employees. The current system of contracting out to the lowest bidder is unacceptable and irresponsible. Restoring the public's confidence in aviation safety and getting people back in the planes are extremely important to Las Vegas and other cities that depend on tourism. The longer it takes to implement effective security measures in our airports, the longer people will stay out of the air and the longer people will stay away from tourist destinations. Businesses will continue to suffer, and unemployment will continue to rise. It is time that the House answers the call of our constituents who are demanding airline security and pass legislation as soon as possible.

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Chairman, it is imperative that we pass an aviation security package today that will make the skies safer. If the images of September 11 have taught us anything, it is that aviation security is national security. Restoring the public's confidence in aviation safety and getting people back in the planes are extremely important to Las Vegas and other cities that depend on tourism. In Las Vegas, hotel occupancy fell to 40 percent, and 240 conventions canceled after the attacks. Nearly 15,000 workers have been laid off from our hospitality industry alone. The longer it takes to implement effective security measures in our airports, the longer people will stay out of the air and the longer people will stay away from our tourist destinations. Businesses will continue to suffer, and unemployment will continue to rise. The Senate passed this aviation security bill unanimously, 100 to zero. It is time that the House answers the call of our constituents who are demanding airline security by passing this Democratic substitute. One role of the federal government that we can all agree on is that the government has a responsibility to ensure our national security. We would never privatize our military or our Border Control agents. Yet we still contract out our aviation security to the lowest bidder. Airport screeners are the front line of law enforcement in our airports. The current system of contracting out to the lowest bidder is unacceptable and irresponsible. Private companies pay their employees minimum wage, hire employees without conducting background checks and provide their employees minimal training. What we need are federal officers at baggage screening checkpoints who have the benefit of experience, rigorous training, and access to integrated law enforcement government databases.

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a truly outstanding individual from Nevada. Trooper Bobby Kintzel of the Nevada Highway Patrol is a six-year highway patrolman, Persian Gulf War veteran, and a Valley High School graduate. Several months ago, Trooper Kintzel was laying tire-piercing spikes across the highway to end a 40- minute high speed chase when a fleeing sport utility vehicle, driven by an escaping murder suspect, purposely struck him at an estimated speed of 90 mph. Trooper Kintzel suffered a fractured pelvis and skull, a severe brain injury, and internal bleeding. A few days later, surgeons removed a portion of his brain that had been irreversibly damaged. The family was devastated and are facing an uncertain future. Trooper Kintzel has recently begun using head and hand signals to communicate, and has had a throat operation to help him speak. Trooper Kintzel's plight has triggered sympathy from fellow law enforcement officers across the United States, as well as in Europe and Australia. More than a thousand well wishers have left encouraging messages for Trooper Kintzel, and on Sunday, September 30, 2001, the City of Las Vegas, and Clark County, Nevada will be honoring the Nevada State Trooper by proclaiming ``Trooper Bobby Kintzel Day.'' Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to recognize Trooper Bobby Kintzel before the Congress today. I call upon my colleagues to join me in honoring this special man for his bravery and courage in the line of duty.

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, before September 11, Las Vegas had one of the strongest economies in the country. Now it is among the worst, and thousands of people are being laid off and losing their jobs. In Nevada, our economy, our businesses, our jobs, our families, rely on the tourism industry. People in my district know that if the airplanes are not flying and people are not coming to Las Vegas, there is not going to be a Las Vegas. Last year, 38 million people came to southern Nevada; approximately 46 percent arrived by air. Tourism is the lifeblood of my district, and the airline industry is a lifeline to my district. I know this is not a perfect bill; but, Mr. Speaker, this is an emergency. I need to protect the jobs in my district and the people in my district. I strongly urge all of my colleagues to vote for this bill. Mr. Speaker, when I went home this weekend, I spoke to the people who live and work in my district. They are very worried about what has happened to our country, and they are very worried about what is going to happen to Las Vegas. Before September 11th, Las Vegas had one of the strongest economies in the country. Now, it is among the worst and thousands of people are being laid off and may be losing their jobs. Our economy, our businesses, our jobs, our families rely on the tourism industry. People in my district know that if airplanes are not flying and people are not coming to Las Vegas, there won't be a Las Vegas. Last year, 38 million people came to Southern Nevada--approximately 46 percent arrived by air. Tourism is the lifeblood of my district. The airline industry is the lifeline to my district. Last week, 240 conventions were canceled. The city's hotel occupancy rates have fallen from 100% to approximately 40% and the hotels are losing millions of dollars every day. Without the airlines flying visitors to Las Vegas, Las Vegas will soon be a ghosttown. I know that this is not a perfect bill. We still need to immediately improve safety in the air, help the airline workers who have lost their jobs and provide incentives to get people flying again. But Mr. Speaker, this is an emergency. I need to protect jobs in my district. I must protect the people in my district. I strongly urge all of my colleagues to vote for this bill.

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer my strongest support for this resolution authorizing the President to use all necessary and appropriate force against those responsible for the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. Today I stand in solidarity with my colleagues, with the administration, and my countrymen in defending America, in promising to seek justice and revenge on those who planned, authorized, committed or aided the vicious agents of evil who carried out these terrorist attacks. It is a war we are ready to wage; it is a war we must win. America stands ready to fight against terrorism wherever it rears its ugly head. Ours is not a war against a people or a religion, but it is a war against those that would enslave the minds of men and sow the seeds of hate and fear. I am confident that those who cherish freedom will heed our call to join us in our fight against international terrorism, and I am equally confident that we will make these cowardly terrorists suffer the wrath of a determined Nation. No one can perpetrate such devastation on the United States of America and escape unscathed. To these blights on humanity, let me say this: This Nation will hunt you down and we will find you, and when we do, we will hit you once and, if we have to, again, and a third time. We make this oath to you today with a saddened heart, but with firm resolve. We will be victorious. Nothing less than our freedom depends on it.

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Yesterday, a heinous and cowardly act was perpetrated against this great Nation. My heart and the hearts of my constituents go out to the families of the victims. No American family, no family on Earth should suffer the loss of a loved and cherished one under these circumstances. We must ensure that these innocent men and women will not have died in vain. To those terrorists who dared to violate our people and our country and those nations who harbor and give aid and comfort to those pathetic excuses for human beings, I promise you, we will identify you, we will find you, we will rid this world of the stench of your existence. There is no such thing as a measured response to this horrific attack. This act of war will be avenged. Our beloved Nation will learn from this outrage, and we will be a stronger and far greater Nation for it. God bless our people; God bless America.

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding me this time, and I rise today in the strongest possible support for this resolution. I condemn these horrendous acts of terrorism as I praise all the unnamed heroes who risked their own lives in order to save others. And I grieve with those who experienced the loss of loved ones. My heart goes out today to the family of Barbara Edwards, a high school teacher from southern Nevada, who was a passenger on the hijacked jet that crashed into the Pentagon. She leaves three children. I support the President and our administration in the pursuit and punishment of those responsible for this heinous crime against humanity. Yesterday's attack was an attack on everything that we believe in as Americans, everything we hold sacred as a nation. It was an attack on freedom of speech. It was an attack on freedom of religion. It was a cowardly attack on innocent people: mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters simply going about their daily routines. Our hearts may be broken and our eyes full of tears, but we Americans have a message for those who carried out this cowardly attack and for those who gave them assistance and shelter: let this be a warning to any who wish to harm us. Americans will not back down. Americans will never live in fear. As Thomas Jefferson once said: ``I have sworn upon the alter of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.'' We will persevere over the tyranny of terror, and we will persevere over tyrants everywhere. God bless America. God bless our people.

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 2563, the Bipartisan Patient Protection Act. This bill is important because it provides direct access to necessary medical care without administrative barriers for our nation's citizens. It allows doctors, not bureaucrats to make medical decisions. The time has come in America to give doctors the right to make decisions about what kind of treatments their patients receive, how long they stay in the hospital, what type of care is given. This bill will provide our constituents with the kind of medical care they need, when they need it and they won't have to jump through hoops to get it. This legislation is long overdue. Let's do the right thing and pass this bill.

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment offered by the gentleman from New Jersey. My congressional district in southern Nevada has the fastest growing veteran population in the country. The medical facilities in my district have seen a 24.4 percent increase in the number of veterans that they serve over the past year. This is a phenomenal increase. Unfortunately, veterans programs in southern Nevada do not receive sufficient funding to provide all the services that veterans need and this shortfall in funding has had a negative impact on the delivery of veterans health care services. Clinics are short-staffed and veterans are still waiting far too long for medical appointments. Demands for veteran health care services in southern Nevada is increasing faster than the availability for facilities and providers. We need more resources. The VERA system is a fair and equitable way to ensure that the distribution of VA funds is consistent with the distribution of the veterans population. The implementation of this system is an essential step forward in the continued improvement of our VA health care system. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, flight delays caused me to miss rollcall votes Nos. 186, 187, and 188. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on No. 186, ``yes'' on No. 187, and ``yes'' on No. 188.

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Chairman, I thank the distinguished gentleman. I think the gentleman is making my point for me, and I appreciate the fact that you have come to Nevada and toured Yucca Mountain. The fact of the matter is the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board says they do not need the money because they do not have anything to study now because the DOE has not offered the trade routes. The reality of the situation is that the people in this House, our colleagues, have a right to know and their constituents have a right to know if the DOE and our government is planning to use their roads through their neighborhoods, through their towns, to transport 77,000 tons of the most toxic nuclear material known to mankind. This is a right-to-know issue, and the DOE's feet should be held to the fire, and if giving another half a million dollars to the technical review board so that they can force the DOE to publish those trade routes, I think that is a very important thing. Also, the committee language, with all due respect, says that they should start doing the trade routes in the State of Nevada. It is my contention that we are doing this a little bass-ackwards. We should not be doing Nevada first, we should be doing all of the transportation routes getting to Nevada, and Nevada should be the last leg of the journey, not the first.

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, two nights ago this House passed legislation that would prohibit dangerous trucks coming to this country from Mexico. Certainly trucks containing nuclear waste going through our neighborhoods is more serious than dangerous Mexican trucks, which we prohibited from coming onto our highways. It seems to me there is not one of us that can go home to our constituents and say we voted down a piece of legislation that would demand that the Department of Energy actually publish the proposed transportation routes of 77,000 tons of toxic nuclear waste. This nuclear waste is going to be coming across all our neighborhoods, all of our towns, through our communities, through 43 States en route to Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Now, I appreciate the fact that both the chairman and the ranking member suggest that perhaps this is premature, but listening to what the administration has been saying with their new reliance on nuclear energy and the fact that in the committee language itself, although there has not been completion of the scientific study saying Yucca Mountain will be the Nation's repository, certainly nobody reading the signs can say that this country is not trying very hard to make Yucca Mountain, which has been selected as the only site, the one that is acceptable for nuclear waste. I might add, however, that it is not acceptable, and it is very apparent that it is not. The fact of the matter is that we have a right to know, and we have a right to protect our constituents. Our constituents, American citizens, have a right to know what their government intends to do. And I would like to hearken back to the nuclear atomic weapons tests that were conducted at the Nevada test site in the 1950s and the 1960s, when we were told there was absolutely no danger to detonating those atomic weapons in the middle of the Nevada desert. The fact of the matter is, every single, and let me repeat that, every single employee of the Nevada test site that worked on those atomic tests are all dying of cancer now and other horrible, heinous ailments. And that is because our Federal Government said, Don't worry, be happy; there is nothing wrong. This is a similar situation 50 years later, and we are hearing the exact same thing from our Federal Government. For this body not to stand up and protect each one of our constituents, and make sure that that nuclear waste and those trucks are not going to be barreling down our neighborhood streets I think is most irresponsible for anybody that does not support this legislation. This is the single most important issue to the people in Southern Nevada, the people that I represent. I again urge all of my colleagues to stand with us, stand with me, and make a determination to keep our neighborhoods, our schools, our hospitals, and the people that we represent safe.

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today to offer an amendment regarding the transportation of high-level nuclear waste. As we are all aware, the Department of Energy is nearing completion on its report on whether Yucca Mountain should be licensed as the Nation's repository for high-level nuclear waste. The DOE has written lengthy reports on hundreds of issues relating to the project, but has remained eerily silent on the one issue that affects almost every Member of this House: the transportation of nuclear waste across the country. If the proposed Yucca Mountain repository is approved, the transfer of high-level nuclear waste would necessitate the shipment of over 77,000 tons of lethal nuclear waste through at least 43 States. The DOE has itself recognized that such transfers may result in as many as 300 accidents with potentially catastrophic consequences, yet it has not published national shipping routes. Members of Congress and the American public have a right to know if high-level radioactive waste is going to be trucked through their districts, past their homes and hospitals, their children's schools, and on their neighborhood roads, and they have a right to know what kind of impact these shipments will have on their communities. That is why I am offering an amendment that would transfer $500,000 to the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board to help them encourage the DOE to publicize the transportation routes. It is only a matter of common sense and sound public policy that this body would seek the assurance of a review board composed of our country's top nuclear scientists on a matter of such importance and so fraught with danger for our citizens. It seems only appropriate to ensure that the board is given the resources it needs to hold hearings, take testimony, and receive evidence to evaluate the DOE's transportation routes. It is, after all, vitally important that Members of Congress understand fully the potential impact on our communities, our constituents and on the environment. This amendment builds on the language of the committee report acknowledging the serious public concern with shipping nuclear waste across the country by road and rail and the need to select transportation routes. I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for their efforts in this regard. Our amendment helps move forward the committee's intent by employing the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board to analyze the routes and their potential impacts and to further encourage the DOE to make public, make public their proposed routes. Let me be clear. This is not a vote on whether or not one supports a nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain. This amendment is about whether Members of Congress and our constituents have a right to know, the right to know whether nuclear waste is going to be traveling through our communities. A vote for this amendment is a vote in favor of protecting our neighborhoods from bureaucrats with too little information and too much secrecy. This is, in the end, about the public's right to know. Mr. Chairman, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this amendment. Again, I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for their work. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining?

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey).

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to all of our Nation's hardworking men and women. I come from a working family. I come from a union family. I know what it is like to work for every penny and live from paycheck to paycheck. Thirty-nine years ago my father put my sister and me and the family dog in the back seat of our car. My parents were in the front seat. Everything we owned was packed in a U-Haul that was connected to the back bumper of our car. We drove across country in the middle of the summer in an un-air conditioned car from upstate New York to California for my dad to get a job. Before we got to California, we decided we would stop in Las Vegas for the night. We never left. The reason we never left is the day after we arrived in Las Vegas my dad joined the culinary union and the following day he got a job. He got a job as a waiter, which he kept for the next 33 years until he retired. On a waiter's salary, on a union waiter's salary, my father made enough money to put a roof over our head, food on the table, clothes on our backs, and two daughters through college and law school; and the reason that he was able to do that is because of the fine wages that the unions had negotiated and fought for. Because of the efforts of organized labor, so many doors of opportunity were opened to my family. No one has to convince me of the importance of unions in our country and the positive impact that they have on workers and business. I have had firsthand experience, and many of my fellow Nevadans have had the same experience. Unions have had a significant impact on the city that my parents and my children and I call home. This is evident in the fact that Nevada has the highest percentage of workers that are union members in the country and our Nation's strongest economy. The culinary union Local 226 alone has more than 50,000 members and is the backbone of our community's service-oriented economy. Las Vegas is the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country. Because of this incredible growth, the construction industry has exploded, and the building trades union members are helping to build our community. It is an oasis in the middle of the desert, thanks to them. Employers in southern Nevada recognize the importance of fostering partnerships with the unions. When workers make good wages, have good benefits and have good working conditions, productivity increases. Southern Nevada's economy is booming and hardworking union men and women helped create this prosperity. I am proud of this strong organized labor movement in Nevada and the improvements that the unions have made for all workers. Unions are the voice of working men and women in this country. Over the years, unions have worked to ensure that employees make liveable wages, work a 5-day workweek so they can spend time with their families, and receive overtime pay. Unions have fought and continue to fight to make sure that workers receive quality health care for themselves and their families. Unions fight for families. Family-leave provisions allow parents to attend parent-teacher conferences, attend to sick family members or spend time with a newborn without the threat of losing their job. Through collective bargaining, unions have secured all of these benefits. I am committed to protecting the right of our workers to both join unions and to collectively bargain, and I will fight against any attempt to erode these rights. This country is far better off and a far better place to live and raise our families because of our unions and our right to organize. I commend the efforts of this Nation's hardworking men and women, and I pay tribute to them and organized labor today.

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a remarkable citizen, Mrs. Lillian Wallace, for her continued dedication and service to the people of Nevada. Lillian is being honored on the occasion of her 90th birthday. She was born on June 13, 1911, in New Haven, Connecticut. Lillian and her late husband Julian founded Seniors United in 1982 in Las Vegas. The purpose of Seniors United is to educate the senior population about the importance of becoming politically active, knowledgeable, and involved Under Lillian's leadership, this organization has prospered. Over the years, Lillian has received numerous community awards and has been actively involved with the Retired Seniors Volunteer Programs, the Jewish Federation, City of Hope, Mobilehome Owners League of Nevada, American Cancer Foundation and the American Heart Association. Lillian has devoted her entire life to seeking and finding ways of assisting those who need help. She serves as a true model of a woman who is dedicated to serving her community.

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, due to inclement weather, my flight was late which is why I missed rollcall votes No. 126 and No. 127. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on No. 126 and ``yea'' on No. 127.

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, every day our headlines read about how Vice President Cheney thinks nuclear power is the answer to our Nation's energy woes. I hope my colleagues and this administration heed my warning, that unless we stop the Yucca Mountain plan, at least 77,000 tons of toxic, dangerous nuclear waste are going to be shipped through 43 States en route to Yucca Mountain. It is a mathematic certainty that the continuing transfer of lethal waste will result in perhaps hundreds of accidents and the potential for catastrophe is very real. Governors and State legislators across this country have emphatically said they do not want nuclear waste traveling through their States. It is time that we listen to their concerns and heed their warnings. An accident in one's district could cost billions of dollars in cleanup and the effects on our constituents would be disastrous. Let us eliminate the dangers of this ``mobile Chernobyl'' by developing methods to safely store the waste where it is currently located. Please join with me in preventing a national disaster.

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I include my testimony concerning nuclear waste storage at your Mountain for the Record. I would like to thank the Chairman for allowing me the opportunity to comment on the proposed FY02 Appropriations for Energy Department, Nuclear Waste Management and Disposal relating to the Department of Energy's (DOE) proposal to store high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. This issue is critical to me because my district is located 90 miles southeast of Yucca Mountain, and it is my constituents who would be the most affected by the Yucca Mountain Plan. More then a decade has gone by since the 1987 amendments to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act designated Yucca Mountain as the only site to be studied, and the scientific evidence against the Mountain continues to grow. Yucca Mountain is located in an earthquake and volcanic eruption zone. As recently as last month there was so much moisture at the proposed site that electrical test equipment was shorted out. It is widely known that ground water will corrode the waste storage containers, and release the deadly toxins into the environment. Scientific evidence against the proposed Yucca Mountain site is plentiful, but just like the 1987 ``Screw Nevada'' bill, each time legitimate arguments are raised, standards for Yucca Mountain are changed. Regarding the current situation with groundwater and personal radiation dose standards, the goalposts have again been moved. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set a groundwater standard of no greater than 4 millirems, and a personal radiation dose standard of 15 millirems per year at 18 kilometers, for the first 10,000 years of waste disposal. Despite the fact that the personal dose radiation standards are significantly weaker than similar sites around the country, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has still asked the EPA to rewrite these standards to allow an even higher dose of radiation. The NRC knows full well that without reduced standards, Yucca Mountain can never be found suitable. So again, the rules must change. On three separate occasions the State of Nevada has demonstrated, using DOE's own data, that the site should be disqualified under both the EPA standard and DOE's own internal site screening regulation. And each time, the DOE or Congress has changed regulations to ensure that Yucca Mountain would not be disqualified, regardless of the health and safety consequences to Nevadans. In fact, the DOE has found the geology at Yucca Mountain so poorly serves the need of a repository, that over 95% of the waste isolation capability would have to be provided by metal waste containers, and other so-called engineered barriers around the waste. When this project started, the idea was to find a site capable of containing the radiation entirely through its natural geologic features. That standard has since been lowered from 100% to 5%. Aside from the earthquakes and the potential for volcanic eruption, an aquifer flows beneath the mountain, with water moving so rapidly that even with all engineered barriers, radiation will unavoidably escape the repository and contaminate our water table. This fact is underscored by a U.S. Geological Survey report entitled ``Flooding in the Amargosa River Drainage Basin, February 23-24, 1998, Southern Nevada and Eastern California, including the Nevada Test Site.'' This document, which I would like to include with my statement, details two floods, one in 1995, and one in 1998, that, would have had severe repercussions on the proposed repository. Most notable is the conclusion that, ``Both the 1995 and 1998 floods indicate . . . that the Amargosa River, with contributing streamflow from one or more among Beatty, Fortymile, and Topopah Washes, has the potential to transport dissolved and particulate material well beyond the boundary on NTS and the Yucca Mountain area during periods of moderate to severe streamflow.'' Yet once again, in clear English, scientific evidence condemns the Yucca plan. In addition to the mounting scientific evidence against Yucca Mountain, there are also ongoing General Accounting Office investigations into mismanagement by senior staff, and a review of the Inspector General's report on bias at the DOE. The first issue was brought to my attention by an anonymous letter I received at my office from an individual who appears to be highly knowledgeable about the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Site Characterization Project. The letter reflects a high level of expertise and first hand knowledge. It is alarming to say the least. Among the allegations are the lack of oversight in relation to the continually escalating lifetime costs for storing nuclear waste at the mountain, unnecessary travel abroad by senior level managers, lack of experience and technical background of those in charge of the project, and an adversarial relationship between managers of the project--and this very body--the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. The General Accounting Office is still in the process of investigating these very serious charges. As for the second issue, as you are likely aware by now, the Inspector General has found that there were several statements in the draft Overview and a note which was attached to one version of the Overview, that ``could be viewed as suggesting a premature conclusion regarding the suitability of Yucca Mountain.'' Of particular concern to me is the section of the I.G.'s report that states, ``Based on Correspondence received by the Office of the Inspector General, it is fair to observe that, at least in some quarters, public confidence in the Department's (DOE) evaluation of Yucca Mountain has eroded.'' The IG also noted disincentives at DOE for Yucca Mountain employees to question assumptions, or to, in any way, ``rock the boat.'' The Inspector General's report serves to underscore what Nevadans have been saying since the origins of the ``Screw Nevada'' bill. Politics plays the leading role in determining the fate of the Yucca Mountain project. It is pointless to discuss how we can restore the public confidence into this doomed project. The American public has seen behind the curtain, and we cannot erase from our memory that we have seen a tainted process, driven by politics, with questionable scientific merit. The further we investigate Yucca Mountain, the more money we spend, the more obvious it becomes that Yucca Mountain is not the answer. Scientific evidence and ongoing investigations continue to shed doubt on the feasibility of a Yucca Mountain Repository. Now is not the time to increase this budget, while the GAO continues to investigate, and science continues to condemn this plan. I again request that federal agencies change their course, and stop trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Instead of trying to change the rules to keep the proposed plan alive, they should immediately begin the decommissioning of the Yucca Mountain Project.

Ms. BERKLEY

Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kentucky and the gentleman from California for joining me to show our support for National Children's Memorial Flag Day. The fourth Friday of every April has come to be known as National Children's Memorial Day. This is a day to remember the children we have lost to violence and to raise awareness about the continuing problem of violence against children. It is a day to fly the Children's Memorial Flag in remembrance. This flag depicts six figures of children holding hands, and in the middle is a chalk outline of one child. This chalk outline symbolizes the devastating loss of lives. Almost daily we are reminded of the violence that plagues our children and the Nation. The statistics are startling. Among the 26 richest nations, the United States accounted for 73 percent of the homicides in which a child was the victim. Three children a day die as a result of child abuse or neglect. Too many children are lost to violence. So many of these deaths are preventable. I want this day to remind us that we must do a better job of keeping our children safe. Children are the most vulnerable members of our society. We as a nation have an obligation to guide and protect them. We all must work together to end the violence against our children. Tomorrow, all 50 State governments and the District of Columbia will participate in National Children's Memorial Flag Day. Many States are flying or displaying the children's memorial flag on or near their State capital. Other States are participating by issuing proclamations. In Nevada, because of the diligence of Donna Husted of the Children's Advocacy Alliance, the children's memorial flag is being flown over the Nevada State capital, the Nevada Department of Child Protective Services, City Hall in Las Vegas, the Clark County government building, and the Clark County Child Protective Services building. I commend Donna Husted for her efforts and thank her on behalf of all the loved ones of the children we have lost. This day is a community effort, a community effort that involves everyone. It crosses racial and ethnic lines. It crosses religious lines. It crosses party lines. I encourage all of my colleagues to support the goals of National Children's Memorial Flag Day. It is a day to remember, to remember the innocent lives we have lost.