Did Democratic Leaders Try to Buy a House Seat With a $25 Billion Nuclear Bailout?
WASHINGTON – July 15 – Today, the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee included a $25 billion preemptive bailout of the nuclear industry, in the form of loan guarantees for new reactors, in the Energy and Water Appropriations bill. Members of the subcommittee delayed markup of the appropriations bill until the bailout was included in the legislation, with Democratic Congressman Chet Edwards being particularly vocal. Since May, Congressman Edwards has been using nuclear bailouts as an election issue against his opponent in Texas’s 17th District, attacking him for suggesting that federal money should not be used to construct nuclear reactors. Edwards wants a preemptive bailout for an expansion of the Comanche Peak reactor in his district. With Edwards in a tightly contested race, it appears that House leadership has caved to his demands and Edwards is declaring a victory. “It is interesting that a $25 billion preemptive bailout for the nuclear industry appeared in the Energ
