Opening Statement Ranking Member Subcommittee on National Security, March 10, 2003 GOOD AFTERNOON. LET ME WELCOME OUR DISTINGUISHED WITNESSES. I AM GLAD YOU COULD BE WITH US TODAY. MR. CHAIRMAN, THE SECURITY OF THIS COUNTRY'S NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS IS ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST CRITICAL HOMELAND SECURITY PRIORITIES. THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION KNOWS THIS. INDEED, IN HIS 2002 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS, PRESIDENT BUSH WARNED THAT NUCLEAR FACILITIES COULD BE ATTACKED BY TERRORISTS, AND WITH DIRE CONSEQUENCES. HE EVEN REVEALED THAT U.S. FORCES FOUND "DIAGRAMS OF AMERICAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS" IN THE CAVES OF AFGHANISTAN. SO I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE ADMINISTRATION SEEMS TO HAVE DROPPED THE BALL ON THIS ISSUE. ON DECEMBER 12 OF LAST YEAR, THE PRESIDENT WAS SUPPOSED TO SUBMIT TO CONGRESS A REPORT ON THE BEST WAY TO EFFICIENTLY AND SAFELY PROVIDE POTASSIUM IODIDE TO COMMUNITIES SURROUNDING NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS IN THE EVENT OF A TERRORIST ATTACK. POTASSIUM IODIDE IS A VERY CHEAP, WIDELY AVAILABLE TABLET THAT CAN PREVENT FATAL THYROID ILLNESSES CAUSED BY RADIATION EXPOSURE. UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAVE SEEN NO SIGN OF THE REPORT. WE REQUIRED THE REPORT BECAUSE PRIOR TO SEPTEMBER 11, THERE WAS NO COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO BUY POTASSIUM IODIDE AND DISTRIBUTE IT TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES. BEFORE 9-11, THE NUCLEAR UTILITY INDUSTRY LOBBIED AGAINST SUCH MEASURES BECAUSE THEY FEARED PEOPLE WOULD BECOME ALARMED ABOUT THE DANGERS OF NUCLEAR POWER. AFTER 9-11, HOWEVER, IT BECAME CLEAR THAT NUCLEAR POWER FACILITIES ARE INDEED LIKELY TARGETS FOR TERRORISTS. AFTER 9-11, THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION RECOMMENDED THAT STATES CONSIDER INCLUDING POTASSIUM IODIDE IN THEIR EMERGENCY EVACUATION PLANS. THE N.R.C. OFFERED TO BUY POTASSIUM IODIDE SO STATES COULD COVER A TEN MILE RADIUS SURROUNDING NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS. BUT ANYONE WITH KNOWLEDGE OF PAST INCIDENTS, SUCH AS THREE-MILE ISLAND AND CHERNOBYL, WOULD ACKNOWLEDGE THAT TEN MILES IS A VERY, VERY MODEST STEP. MANY OF US IN CONGRESS BELIEVED THE N.R.C. DID NOT GO FAR ENOUGH. FOR THIS REASON, CONGRESS EXPANDED THIS TO A 20-MILE RADIUS AS PART OF THE BIOTERRORISM BILL WE PASSED LAST JUNE. WE ALSO GAVE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS GREATER FLEXIBILITY TO OBTAIN POTASSIUM IODIDE WHEN STATE GOVERNMENTS FAILED TO DO SO. TO ENSURE THAT THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION WOULD PURCHASE THE POTASSIUM IODIDE, DISTRIBUTE IT, AND ADMINISTER IT IN THE MOST EFFECTIVE MANNER POSSIBLE, WE ALSO MANDATED THE REPORT I DESCRIBED, WHICH WAS TO BE CONDUCTED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. AS I SAID, IT WAS DUE IN DECEMBER. HERE WE ARE, THREE MONTHS LATER - AND STILL NO REPORT. IT GETS WORSE. APPARENTLY, NOBODY IN THE ADMINISTRATION EVEN ALLOCATED FUNDING FOR THIS REPORT UNTIL AFTER IT WAS DUE. IT APPEARS THE ADMINISTRATION HADN'T EVEN CONTACTED THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES TO CONTRACT FOR THE STUDY. THAT'S OVER EIGHT MONTHS OF INACTION. LAST WEEK, WE WERE TOLD THAT SOMEONE IN THE ADMINISTRATION FINALLY WROTE A MEMO TO THE NATIONAL ACADEMY ASKING THEM TO BEGIN WORK. BUT THEY ARE JUST NOW APPOINTING THE PANELISTS WHO WILL BEGIN TO STUDY THIS ISSUE. THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS. WHAT IS GOING ON? HOW COULD THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION SO COMPLETELY IGNORE CONGRESS? MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW COULD THEY IGNORE THIS CRITICAL ISSUE AND THE FAMILIES LIVING IN NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE THESE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ARE LOCATED? WE CAN ONLY SPECULATE. PERHAPS IT IS BECAUSE THE ADMINISTRATION'S HOMELAND SECURITY APPARATUS IS IN DISARRAY. CLEARLY, THE NEW DEPARTMENT IS NOT YET OPERATING COHERENTLY. AND NOW THAT GOVERNOR RIDGE HAS LEFT THE WHITE HOUSE, PRESIDENT BUSH HAS FAILED TO APPOINT A SUCCESSOR, SO NOBODY HAS ASSUMED THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF CROSSAGENCY ISSUES, SUCH AS THIS ONE. MAYBE THIS JUST FELL THROUGH THE CRACKS. OR, PERHAPS IT'S BECAUSE THE ADMINISTRATION'S FOCUS IS ENTIRELY ON IRAQ. MAYBE THIS IS JUST ONE MORE EXAMPLE OF THE ADMINISTRATION'S COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE TUNNEL-VISION DIVERTING ATTENTION AWAY FROM SEVERE THREATS HERE AT HOME. OR, PERHAPS THE ADMINISTRATION IS RELYING ON INDUSTRY TO DO THE RIGHT THING, AS IT HAS IN SO MANY OTHER CASES. INDUSTRY OFFICIALS HAVE STATED PUBLICLY THAT THEY BELIEVE NUCLEAR PLANTS ARE "OVERLY DEFENDED." BUT AN N.R.C. REVIEW OF FORCE-ONFORCE EXERCISES DEMONSTRATES PRECISELY THE OPPOSITE. N.R.C. OFFICIALS FOUND “SIGNIFICANT WEAKNESSES" IN ARMED RESPONSES IN 37 OUT OF 81 MOCK ATTACKS — OR 46% OF THE TIME. THE N.R.C. CONCLUDED THAT THESE MOCK ATTACKERS WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CAUSE "CORE DAMAGE AND IN MANY CASES... A PROBABLE RADIOACTIVE RELEASE." WHATEVER THE REASON FOR ITS INACTION, THE ADMINISTRATION'S CONDUCT IS UNACCEPTABLE. PRESIDENT BUSH PROMISED TO MAKE HOMELAND SECURITY HIS TOP PRIORITY. AFTER SEPTEMBER 11, WE CAN NO LONGER LEAVE CRITICAL HOMELAND SECURITY ITEMS - - LIKE THE SAFETY OF OUR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS — TO INDUSTRY. WE CAN NO LONGER AFFORD TO LET THESE CRITICAL ITEMS SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS OR BE IGNORED. THE ADMINISTRATION MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY, AND IT MUST TO DO SO IMMEDIATELY. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. Mr. SHAYS. At this time the gentleman would recognize the vice chair of the committee, Mr. Michael Turner. Mr. TURNER. No statement. Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Janklow, do you have any comments? Mr. JANKLOW. No, sir. I would rather hear the witnesses. Mr. SHAYS. We will do that. Let me welcome and ask unanimous consent that our colleague Sue Kelly be allowed to participate in this hearing. She is a member of the Transportation Committee as well as Financial Services, and is the vice chair of that committee. We welcome you here. She, like a number in the United States, has a plant in her district and has some expertise in this issue. Would you like to make an opening statement, Mrs. Kelly? Mrs. KELLY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to express my thanks to both you and Mr. Kucinich for holding their hearing today. It addresses some issues that are on the minds of many Americans as we confront the challenges that are associated with the war on terror. The hearing addresses some matters of particular significance to many of my constituents because they live within the radius of the Indian Point Nuclear Plant, which is in my district in Buchanan, NY. So it is a good thing the hearing will include witnesses who can speak directly to some of their concerns. The hearing is also beneficial in providing a followup to a hearing that we held 2 weeks ago in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which examined some of the problems with Indian Point's emergency plans and the Federal Government's inadequate attempts to resolve them. I said 2 weeks ago and I will say again today that FEMA has to respond to our local officials and to the issues that were recently raised by the report released by the former FEMA Administrator, James Lee Witt, which concluded that the current emergency plans for Indian Point were inadequate to protect public safety. [The information referred to follows:] |