Nuclear Research Energy Initiative Background This program creates a fund available to universities, national labs, and industry for the purpose of developing new nuclear reactors that had previously been terminated by Congress and the Department of Energy.
Green Scissors Proposal Eliminate this program and save taxpayers at least $137.5 million over the next five years.
Project Hurts Taxpayers The mature nuclear power industry should pay for its own research to improve its profit margin. The nuclear industry has already received $66 billion in direct subsides and countless billions more in indirect subsides. Moreover, the program subsidizes a technology for which there is no U.S. market.
Project Hurts Environment Subsidizing a polluting technology, such as nuclear power, places sustainable energy technologies at a disadvantage. In addition, the commercial nuclear power industry has already created 37,000 metric tons of nuclear waste for which there are no safe disposal options, and this program will only create more such wastes.
$137.5 million