Yucca Mountain News Clips
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
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Las Vegas SUN
November 26, 2003
DOE predicts nuke reactions in casks
Nevadans worry about danger at Yucca
By Suzanne Struglinski
<suzanne@lasvegassun.com>
Las Vegas SUN
WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department predicts up to 60 uncontrolled nuclear reactions would take place inside nuclear waste casks stored at power plant sites should the casks corrode, according to a department study obtained by Nevada officials.
After a review of the documents, state officials say they believe the same thing would happen at the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
The state wants the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, an independent board set up by Congress to review the potential dump, to look into the matter.
"We were amazed to learn, after finally obtaining some of the pertinent documents from the Department of Energy through the Freedom of Information Act, that DOE's own studies anticipate that, if the repository operates as is now planned, up to 60 nuclear criticalities may plausibly occur inside the mountain, and that (the) conditional probability of occurrence may be greater than one in 1,000 per year," Bob Loux, executive director of the state's Agency for Nuclear Projects wrote to board Chairman Michael Corradini.
Criticalities are uncontrolled nuclear reactions that could occur if water -- or other liquids -- got inside the casks. It could start a mininuclear reaction inside the casks and cause a steam explosion, said Washington attorney Joe Egan, who represents the state on Yucca matters.
The issue of water seepage at Yucca Mountain has been a critical point of debate over the planned nuclear waste repository. Scientists are still studying how water moves through the mountain. With or without water, the casks are eventually expected to corrode over a period of thousands of years.
State officials expressed surprise that the report wasn't disclosed as part of the Yucca Mountain debate.
They say Energy officials have said that the issue won't affect Yucca Mountain and state officials say this study shows that it does.
But Allen Benson, a Yucca Mountain project spokesman in Nevada, said the documents the state received do not relate to Yucca Mountain but are from a 4-year-old report looking at on-site waste storage facilities at nuclear power plants.
Benson said the department was glad Loux sent the letter to the board since it can now choose to review the matter, but that on-site storage and storage inside Yucca "are two different things."
Benson said that since the report shows that criticalities can take place inside above-ground storage containers at the 103 nuclear power plants throughout the country, especially if water gets in them, it makes even more sense to store the waste in Yucca, which is in the desert.
But state officials say the fact that the Energy Department acknowledges in this report that criticality is an issue is a huge threat.
Egan and Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval filed petitions with the U.S. Court Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, asking the court to include the FOIA documents in the court record. The state's major court arguments on the site will take place there on Jan. 14.
Loux said the department only predicated an "extremely low probability of occurrence" of such reactions in the Final Environmental Impact Statement issued last year. He quotes the document's specific text to that effect in his letter to Corradini.
State officials had Michael Thorne, a criticality expert, review the report and found that an expected 60 chain reaction events would occur throughout the lifetime of the repository since the department anticipates the waste packages will degrade over time.
"A criticality occurring in the repository could severely compromise the entire facility, vastly increasing radionuclide releases and making waste packages irretrievable," Loux wrote.
The department documents do not have a timeline for the events to occur, according to the letter.
"These are not nuclear explosions," Egan said. "We are not trying to scare anyone ... we are not saying this is going to happen, but DOE's own analysis notes it was a nonspeculative scenario."
But if the casks were to burst, the radioactive material would go with it. "It's literally a dirty bomb, a conventional explosion with radioactive materials," Egan said.
"Their maximum accident scenario in transport is $18 billion in clean-up (costs) and 44 early fatalities, and that's with a small puff of radiation not an explosion -- they call it a 'violent event' which is a euphemism for explosion," Egan said.
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Las Vegas SUN
November 26, 2003
Report details potential rupture of casks
By Suzanne Struglinski
<suzanne@lasvegassun.com>
Las Vegas SUN
WASHINGTON -- Nuclear waste storage containers inside Yucca Mountain could corrode and break, based on conditions inside the mountain, the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board told the Energy Department again Tuesday.
The board Tuesday sent a detailed report to Margaret Chu, the department's top Yucca official, that expands on a letter it sent Oct. 21 drawing the same conclusions.
The 33-page report, signed by 10 board members, says previous department experiments on the internal conditions of the site are not adequate since the board believes corrosion and weakening of engineered barriers -- such as shields to cover the casks -- inside the mountain can take place with conditions the department says will exist.
The board based its analysis on presentations it received from Energy Department on the high-temperature -- or "hot" -- repository design. The report concentrates on the first 1,000 years after the repository is closed, when temperatures inside the mountain would be above the boiling point of water.
The Energy Department wants to use the hot repository design, which places waste casks closer than the alternative design known as the cold repository design. The final design won't be known until the department submits its license application to the NRC. The department says it will file the license by December 2004.
The board believes the hot repository design will create conditions for widespread corrosion of the casks that could lead them to break.
"Once started, such corrosion is likely to propagate rapidly even after conditions necessary for initiation are no longer present," the board told Chu. "The result would be perforation caused by localized corrosion of the waste package, with possible release of radionuclides."
According to a letter sent to Chu with the report, the board only focused on corrosion of the Alloy 22 waste packages set to store the 77,000 tons of nuclear waste, about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Members wrote that the board believes the potential for corrosion of the casks needs to be addressed by the Energy Department.
Chu sent a response back to the board on the Oct. 21 saying she appreciated its findings since it "relates to the thermal operating conditions of the repository and not to the ability to dispose of waste safely at Yucca Mountain."
She also assured the board that the department "will not dismiss the Board's corrosion concerns" as part of the total performance assessment required by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Energy Department spokesman Joe Davis said today the department will complete a detailed review of the board's report but that it does not agree with its conclusions that there will be widespread corrosions.
"Our bottom line is this: Under the current repository design, we meet the EPA standard for radiation," Davis said.
He also noted that the board is no longer debating whether waste should be stored at Yucca but how far apart the canisters should be.
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Las Vegas SUN
November 26, 2003
Bush touts economy, avoids Yucca mention
By Steve Kanigher
<steve@lasvegassun.com>
Las Vegas SUN
Republican President Bush made his first Las Vegas visit a lucrative one, taking in more than $1.2 million for a re-election campaign that is far outpacing its Democratic rivals at the cash register.
One campaign estimate is that the fund-raising total could reach $1.4 million for Bush, who told supporters at a Venetian luncheon Tuesday that his administration has passed every test it has faced in his first three years in office.
At 34 minutes in duration, it was a classic campaign stump speech, long on optimism about America's future while embracing his "compassionate conservatism." He listed accomplishments and legislative goals -- from the economy to the war on terrorism -- and he proudly supported the Medicare overhaul bill passed by the Senate on Tuesday.
As for the war on terrorism, Bush cited the accomplishment of bringing freedom to 50 million residents of Afghanistan and Iraq while preventing further terrorist attacks at home.
"The terrorists declared war on America and war is what they got," Bush said. "We caught a lot of key leaders of al-Qaida and the rest know we're on their trail.
"The war on terror continues. The enemies of freedom are not idle and neither are we. We will not rest, we will not tire, we will not stop until this danger to civilization is removed."
He conceded that danger continues in Iraq because of attacks from those loyal to deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. That led to his angriest line:
"The United States will never be intimidated by a bunch of thugs," Bush said.
But on the subject of domestic affairs, he made no mention of federal government efforts to ship high-level nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, a position most Nevadans have opposed.
Although Bush carried Nevada in 2000 after promising in that campaign that he would not approve Yucca Mountain without the backing of sound science, he signed a bill last year to make the Nevada site the nation's nuclear waste repository. Critics in Nevada said he made his decision without considering sound science.
Bush was not available for media questioning on this or any other subject. And the well-heeled luncheon attendees -- an estimated 875 strong, though contributions to the event came from more than 1,100 individuals -- were oblivious to the anti-Bush protests outside the Strip resort, who targeted Yucca Mountain among other things.
Gov. Kenny Guinn, who introduced Bush, never mentioned Yucca Mountain but noted that they don't agree on everything.
A sampling of donors who attended the speech said they thought that Bush hit all the right marks and most said they weren't surprised that he failed to address Yucca Mountain.
"I thought it was a wonderful speech," casino mogul Steve Wynn said. "He's a wonderful president."
Former Nevada Gov. Bob List, a pro-nuclear lobbyist who has argued for Yucca Mountain, called Bush "energetic, forceful and sincere."
As for Bush's failure to address Yucca Mountain, List said that "to many people who would like to make it a pivotal issue, there's probably some disappointment.
"But in reality, it's in the hands of scientists," List said. "He said his decision would be based on sound science and it was. I didn't expect him to address it."
One donor who expressed disappointment was singer Phyllis McGuire.
"I felt that certain things should have been addressed that weren't," she said. McGuire then confirmed that Yucca Mountain was one of those topics.
But she also said, "He's doing the best he can under the circumstances, I think."
Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., one of many Nevada politicians acknowledged by Bush at the beginning of his address, said he thought the president's speech was "great" for reasons similar to those expressed by List. Gibbons also said he wasn't surprised that Yucca Mountain escaped mention.
"I disagree with this president on the issue of Yucca Mountain," Gibbons said. "I know there's a tremendous amount of concern in Nevada about Yucca Mountain. Nevada has come to realize that we're fighting 49 other states."
In the introduction, Guinn said Bush deserved to win re-election.
Bush then made his case for four more years in the White House after the November 2004 general election.
"I came to this office to solve problems instead of passing them on to future presidents and future generations," he said. "This administration is meeting the tests of our time.
"We're focusing on the people's business by focusing on results. I've put together one of the greatest teams ever to serve the people of America."
The president boasted about the nation's economic recovery -- an 8.2 percent growth rate for the third quarter of this year that he said was the highest in 20 years -- that he attributed in part to his massive federal tax relief package. He also talked of cracking down on corporate scandals and he discussed the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which is aimed at improving public education.
Most of the top Democratic presidential candidates have already had fund-raisers in Southern Nevada this year but none came anywhere near the amount of money raised by Bush. As of Sept. 30, Bush had raised $85.2 million nationally. The top Democrat, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, had raised $25.4 million.
The fact the fund-raiser was held at The Venetian was not a random selection by the Bush campaign team. Venetian owner Sheldon Adelson is one of the gaming industry's staunchest supporters of the national Republican Party, having repeatedly contributed six-figure sums in soft money to the party and its spin-off committees.
"It's just a wonderful honor to have him at The Venetian," William Weidner, president and chief operating officer of Venetian owner Las Vegas Sands Inc., said of Bush. "We are real Republican fans. And we are fans of the president and what he's doing in the war against terrorism."
The fund-raiser was organized with the assistance of Larry Ruvo, a major Nevada liquor distributor and state finance chairman of the Bush campaign who helped raise $400,000 earlier this year when he played host to Vice President Dick Cheney.
Other luminaries on the host committee were Guinn, Wynn, Mandalay Resort Group Chairman Michael Ensign, public relations mogul and former ambassador Sig Rogich and political consultant Pete Ernaut. They had a private backstage meeting and photo session with Bush at The Venetian before the president gave his remarks.
Also in attendance were Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, Attorney General Brian Sandoval, who chairs the state Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign committee, Secretary of State Dean Heller, state Controller Kathy Augustine, Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., and several state legislators.
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Las Vegas SUN
November 26, 2003
Protesters condemn president, Yucca dump
By Jace Radke
<jace@lasvegassun.com>
Las Vegas SUN
The songs of gondoliers were drowned out Tuesday by the voices of hundreds of protesters who marched in front of The Venetian carrying placards and signs decrying the Bush administration and the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.
Whistles, cowbells and megaphones blared as protesters marched against the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump, the war in Iraq and the Patriot Act while tourists gathered on balconies and walkways to watch the spectacle.
"You got people out here from all kinds of backgrounds and we're all protesting different things; it's amazing we're all getting along," said Paul Brown, a director with Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. "I think what we're seeing today is that many people just aren't happy with this president."
The crowd of protesters grew to about 1,000 by 11 a.m. and dwindled to around 20 by 2 p.m. Signs of all shapes and sizes were hoisted by protesters with some reading, "Mr. Bush I belong to the majority who didn't vote for you," and "No Chernobyl in Las Vegas."
Protesters also carried photocopies of a doctored picture of Bush with his nose growing like Pinocchio's.
A majority of the protesters were local union members with Culinary, painters, plumbers and service employee unions, but others also marched.
Sara Giampa and Liz Israel, both 16-year-old Green Valley High School students, took the day off to attend the protest.
"We just thought it was important to come down here," Giampa said. "Bush thinks he can come here and act like he's our friend when he really wants to put nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain."
Las Vegas resident Bob Baker said he doesn't have a problem with nuclear waste being stored 90 miles outside of Las Vegas, but he does take issue with the Patriot Act.
"This guy is slowly killing democracy," Baker said. "We got carried away after Sept. 11 giving the feds a little too much freedom and now (Bush) is taking it to the hilt."
At the height of the protest about 200 people lined the balconies and walkways along the front of The Venetian watching the protest and hoping to catch a glimpse of the president's motorcade.
Richard and Pamela Bryan, a couple vacationing from England, said they were experiencing deja vu as they watched the protest.
"It's very similar to what we saw in England when (Bush) visited last week," Pamela Bryan said. "It's almost like he's following us."
Wallace and Carole Shaw, who are visiting Las Vegas from Canada, said they took some time away from gambling to check out the protest.
"Watching this is probably the cheapest entertainment in town," Wallace Shaw said.
Those wanting to see the president had to settle for a wax likeness in front of Madame Tussaud's wax museum, as the president's motorcade did not enter the main entrance of The Venetian. The likeness was at the museum's front entrance, and tourist lined up for photos with Bush's wax counterpart.
About 25 Metro Police officers, including four officers mounted on horses, worked crowd control in front of The Venetian. Sgt. John McGrath said there were no major problems as protesters marched along behind portable, waist-high metal barricades that lined the sidewalk.
McGrath and Allen Lichtenstein, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, did have to intervene in what turned into an argument between a protester and Venetian security.
Jason Halprin, 27, was walking with a group of about 20 other protesters after the rally had died down and the majority of people had left when Halprin said a Venetian security guard asked him to move to a protest area to the north of where he was.
"They just told us that this was their property and that they had given us a place to protest up the street, and then he threatened to trespass me," Halprin said.
Lichtenstein said that Halprin moved across a driveway to the northern stretch of sidewalk after McGrath explained to the guards that the sidewalk is a public forum and acknowledged Halprin's right to be there.
"Apparently we've had an instance where someone's been told that (The Venetian) owns the sidewalk," said Lichtenstein, who added that he had heard reports that smaller groups of protesters and reporters had been told by Venetian officials to get off the sidewalk in front of the property in the past.
The Venetian lost a federal lawsuit that upheld that the sidewalks outside the hotel-casino are a public forum.
"All it says to me is that The Venetian appears to not mind being in contempt of a court order, but hopefully that's not the case," Lichtenstein said.
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Las Vegas SUN
November 26, 2003
Letter: Don't support pro-Yucca Bush
I think Brian Greenspun's Sunday column said a lot of things that should be said more often. Nevada is targeted to be a nuclear waste dump if our current president has anything to say about it, yet local dignitaries and business owners are lining up to donate thousands of dollars to him and listen to his meaningless platidudes.
Where are our Republican congressmen and state office holders? Why is it more important to look good in Washington than to make a statement of principle for Nevada?
I admire the fact that the Sun's columnists challenge local politics and politicians and the political situation. Like somebody once said, "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." Keep asking the questions, keep rocking the boat and keep printing the paper.
Mark Bradshaw
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Nevada Appeal
November 26, 2003
Nuke decision should cost Bush a state
Nevada Appeal Staff Reports
By Nevada Appeal editorial board
Democrats have one issue on which they can make hay when President Bush visits Nevada, and that issue is nuclear storage at Yucca Mountain.
So the comments from legislators and ex-governor Bob Miller and the protests on Tuesday during Bush's stop in Las Vegas came as no surprise. The question is, will the accusations stick with voters when they get to the ballot box in November 2004?
The accusation is that Bush broke his promise to Nevadans when he said he would base his decision on "sound science." Al Gore's promise wasn't much different, but as it turned out Bush is the president who gave the go-ahead to dumping 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste from 43 states into Nevada's back yard, based on some dubious scientific extrapolations.
It's a legacy that ought to make Nevadans angry, especially after they helped put him in the White House.
Whether it's an overriding issue for most of the state's voters, however, will remain to be seen. With most of the Democratic base in Clark County, closer to the nuclear dump site, we suspect it could cost Bush the state's electoral votes - depending on who is his opponent.
But it's not a national issue. Despite pleas from Nevadans such as Speaker Richard Perkins, who made the argument as part of the Democrats' weekly radio address, the routes all that waste will take across America aren't registering on many radar screens. (Probably, in large part, because we still don't know where the routes will be.)
Somewhere behind the war on terrorism, the economy, Medicare and a hundred other issues lies Nevada's lonely protest against nuclear-waste storage. It makes a difference only here.
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Las Vegas Review-Journal
November 26, 2003
Documents say 60 nuclear chain reactions possible
But federal officials say report refers to reactor sites and not to Yucca Mountain waste repository
By Keith Rogers
Review-Journal
Canisters of deadly radioactive waste would corrode inside the planned Yucca Mountain repository and cause up to 60 uncontrolled nuclear chain reactions, raising safety concerns about the federal project for disposing of the nation's spent reactor fuel, state officials claimed Tuesday, citing once-secret documents.
A Department of Energy spokesman discounted the state's claims, however, saying the 1998 report in question dealt with long-term storage of spent fuel assemblies at more than 100 U.S. reactor sites and not the maze of tunnels DOE wants to carve inside Yucca Mountain to entomb highly radioactive waste for at least 10,000 years.
"The report speaks to criticality at reactor storage sites instead of at the repository," Energy Department spokesman Allen Benson said Tuesday, adding, "There's nothing secret about the report either."
But in a statement earlier in the day, Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency chief Bob Loux said he sent a letter to Micahel Corradini, chairman of an independent nuclear waste review panel, claiming, "If the repository operates as is now planned, up to 60 nuclear criticalities may plausibly occur inside the mountain, and that the conditional probability of occurrence may be greater than one in 1,000 per year.
"The discovery of these once-hidden documents indicates that DOE was well aware of the risk of waste package damage and radioactive releases into the environment but attempted to hide it, knowing that internal criticality may be one of the most, if not the most, significant safety issues in repository licensing," according to the letter Tuesday to Corradini, chairman of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
The documents, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, were revealed less than two months before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia begins hearing the state's consolidated cases for blocking the project, and while DOE is preparing a license application for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to begin reviewing in December 2004.
Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval has asked the court to enter the documents into the court record.
According to Loux's statement, the documents "show that if the waste packages stored in the repository corrode and permit water to enter, a spontaneous nuclear chain reaction is a great enough possibility that up to 60 such events could be expected in the repository, with a likelihood of occurrence of more than one in 1,000."
That assumption contradicts DOE's final impact statement for the project that claimed a chance of a criticality occurring would be less than two in 10 million over the entire 10,000 years that the repository loaded with 77,000 tons of nuclear waste and spent fuel must comply with safety regulations.
Criticality is the point at which a nuclear chain reaction becomes self-sustaining, posing catastrophic consequences.
Loux noted that, if a terrorist fired an armor-piercing missile at a nuclear waste shipment, "a criticality even could occur, especially if water was able to enter the cask. Such an event would almost certainly cause what DOE called a 'violent event,' exploding the cask and dispersing its radioactive contents into the environment."
The criticality issue has surfaced occasionally during the 20-year dispute between the state and DOE over saddling Nevada with the burden of storing nuclear waste in the mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
In 1999, a Nevada scientist asserted that an uncontrolled, nuclear chain reaction could slowly cook inside the mountain canisters over hundreds of thousands of years, releasing lethal radionuclides into the environment.
A Yucca Mountain Project policy adviser at the time, Abe Van Luik, defended the repository design, saying there is "essentially no possibility of a criticality while waste packages are still intact. Beyond 10,000 years, there is a very slight chance of criticality. It's so very slight, we probably won't analyze it."
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Las Vegas Review-Journal
November 26, 2003
CAMPAIGN FUND RAISING: Bush hits the high points
Good economic news, Medicare changes buoy president's visit
By Erin Neff
Review-Journal
President Bush began his first trip to Nevada buoyed by passage of Medicare reform legislation and improved economic figures.
He left town on an equally high note, with his campaign some $1.3 million healthier.
During a whirlwind 4 1/2 hour visit Tuesday, Bush met with a small group of seniors and health care providers, spoke about Medicare and tort reform to 200 people at Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center, and hit his administration's highlights during a stump speech to more than 800 supporters at a fund-raising luncheon at The Venetian.
While about 1,000 protesters marked his visit, an equal number forked over $1,000 and $2,000 checks. Some event organizers boasted the record haul for a presidential campaign stop in Las Vegas could top $1.5 million once all the pledged money is counted.
The Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign team considers Nevada a battleground state. Bush narrowly won Nevada in 2000, but Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe insists the state will go to the Democratic nominee, as Nevada did twice for Bill Clinton.
But Yucca Mountain, Nevada Democrats' weapon of choice against Bush, was taken completely out of the picture Tuesday. Local journalists were given no chance to question Bush on his 2002 decision to recommend Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, for the nation's high-level nuclear waste repository.
Nevada Republicans, including Gov. Kenny Guinn, Attorney General Brian Sandoval and Reps. Jim Gibbons and Jon Porter, met Bush at McCarran International Airport and rode in his motorcade throughout the day. Although all of them still fight the planned repository on several fronts, they didn't mention Yucca Mountain once.
During the midday fund-raiser at The Venetian, Guinn introduced Bush by saying that "while we don't agree with him on everything," Nevadans support Bush's policies.
An upbeat Bush beamed with energy and smiled frequently during his 30-minute address to about 200 at the southwest valley hospital. The speech, carried nationally by CNN and Fox News, came just hours after the Senate vote.
"Some said Medicare reform can never be done," Bush told the crowd of medical providers, hospital staff and Republican officials. "For the sake of our seniors, we've got something done. We're acting. We acted on principle in Washington, D.C."
Bush called the bill's passage "a historic moment, a bipartisan achievement that all Americans can be proud of."
The president said the bill will reduce seniors' health care costs within six months of his expected signature. As examples, he introduced a number of Las Vegans with whom he met privately Tuesday during a roundtable at the hospital before his speech.
World War II veteran Bob May, whom Bush called "a solid citizen," was pointed out as a senior who wanted a choice in health care, a choice permitted in the bill.
"He didn't need the government telling him how to choose what health care plan best met his needs," Bush said.
After the president's speech, May said Bush "hit the nail on the head."
"He touched on every point the Medicare program will be improved," May, 79, said in an interview. "Washington finally recognizes there's a lot of room for improvement."
Bush also introduced Las Vegans Joyce and J.C. Pearson, whom he said spend $300 a month on prescription drugs.
"Under the new Medicare reform bill passed today, they will save $1,800 a year," Bush said.
The bill covers 75 percent of drug costs between $250 and $2,250 and provides protection against catastrophic prescription drug costs for a monthly premium of about $35.
Bush was relaxed and loose, telling the crowd that J.C. Pearson was originally from Tennessee.
"By the way, and he reminded me that without Tennessee, Texas wouldn't have been much. He reminded more than once, I might add."
Bush thanked Congress several times in his speech and introduced Darlene Ensign, whose husband, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., was still in Washington after voting against the bill early Tuesday morning.
"I appreciate the seniors and the senior groups, such as the AARP, who lobbied hard on behalf of a modern Medicare system," Bush said.
Fresh off applause from the audience, Bush turned to the medical liability issue, which he dubbed "the effect of junk lawsuits on the delivery of health care in America and in Nevada."
He seized the opportunity to once again propose a national cap of $250,000 for pain and suffering awards by juries in malpractice cases, referring casually to physicians as "docs."
Bush introduced Dr. Donna Miller, an OB/GYN whose insurance premiums rose from $28,000 last year to $72,000 this year.
"She told me about the colleagues who have left Nevada," Bush said. "I remember when your trauma center shut down here. It made national news."
Nevada's medical liability crisis forced many doctors to limit their practices, leave the state or retire early. It also led to a temporary closure of University Medical Center's Trauma Center.
Bush thanked the House of Representatives for approving his call for national medical liability reform but lamented the lack of action in the Senate.
"You need to contact a senator in the state of Nevada and let them know you're interested in national medical liability reform," Bush said, pounding a fist on the lectern in obvious reference to Senate Minority Whip Harry Reid, D-Nev. "The senators must understand that nobody in America has ever been healed by a frivolous lawsuit."
Reid, an attorney, strongly opposes Bush's medical liability reforms.
After the speech, physicians in the audience cheered Bush's call for national tort reform.
"Everyone thinks the problem has gone away, but it hasn't gone away at all," said Dr. Warren Volker, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Summerlin Hospital Medical Center, which is affiliated with Spring Valley Hospital.
Volker said his premiums have gone up 109 percent this year and that he has been unable to hire a physician in his practice for six months because candidates have turned down a chance to practice in Nevada.
"I think the president is right on," Volker said. "The national reform is really the only thing that's going to stabilize health care."
Bush casually mentioned "some good economic news," a reference to Tuesday's revised gross domestic product report, which shows the economy grew 8.2 percent in the third quarter, the fastest pace in two decades. The Commerce Department revised its initial 7.2 percent growth estimate.
While the protesters who marched outside The Venetian would disagree, Tuesday's trip was a huge success for Bush. His only misstep seemed to come on the steps from Air Force One. He stumbled and quickly caught himself shortly after arriving at McCarran at 9:16 a.m. from his Texas ranch.
The president's arrival created traffic tieups around the airport and complicated the morning commute for thousands of valley residents.
His 35-minute speech at The Venetian was interrupted more than 40 times by applause from the largely Republican crowd of dignitaries, business owners and gaming representatives.
Bush's speech touched upon health care, tort reform, the war on terrorism, the economy and education.
He praised U.S. troops for continuing to fight terrorist cells in Afghanistan and battle for democracy in Iraq. He also said he had no intention of pulling out of Iraq despite increasing attacks on U.S. troops.
"The United States of America will never be intimidated by a bunch of thugs," Bush said. "The United States of America will finish what we've begun and will win this essential victory in the war on terrorism."
Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lynette Boggs-McDonald, who sang the national anthem, applauded Bush's discussion of Medicare and his fight against terrorism. She noted that Bush's actions on issues such as education and health care are more important to Southern Nevada than his support for the Yucca Mountain Project.
"I think that's come to a place where we respectfully agree to disagree with each other on this matter," she said.
But entertainer Phyllis McGuire wasn't so understanding. She excused herself from the luncheon after the first course. When asked whether the event was worth the money, she said, "No."
"Certain things that should have been addressed weren't," she said, nodding yes when asked whether she was referring to the Yucca Mountain Project.
Former Nevada Gov. Bob List, who now lobbies on behalf of Yucca Mountain for the Nuclear Energy Institute, said he felt Bush's speech was "outstanding" and "energetic."
"He spoke from his heart. That's what Americans need," List said.
Review-Journal writers Frank Curreri and Adrienne Packer contributed to this report.
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Las Vegas Review-Journal
November 26, 2003
Protesters target Bush, Yucca Mountain
Most demonstrators during president's visit focus on nuclear waste repository
By Henry Brean
Review-Journal
As tourists stopped to watch and snap photos in front of The Venetian on Tuesday morning, a crowd of protesters marched and chanted against President Bush and his support of the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.
Bush, making his first visit to Las Vegas as president, had not yet arrived at the hotel for a fund-raising lunch. But starting about 9:30 a.m., about 1,000 protesters walked in circles inside temporary metal barriers set up on the sidewalk at both sides of The Venetian's front entrance. Spurred by a few people with megaphones, the crowd chanted slogans such as "The son of a Bush must go" and "Hell no, we won't glow; all the science points to no."
Their biggest beef: Before he was elected president, Bush promised Nevadans he would not recommend construction of the Yucca Mountain repository until science proved it safe. In 2002, with scores of scientific issues still unresolved, Bush tapped the site, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Many of the protesters carried signs provided by the Culinary Local 226 that read "No Nuke Dump in Nevada."
"The (Yucca Mountain) site leaks. Nobody disputes that," said Judy Treichel, executive director of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force.
Treichel said she has been taking part in protests like Tuesday's since the days of nuclear weapons tests in Nevada.
"If Bush has his way, we'll have that again," she said.
"It's not necessarily a liberal thing. It's a Nevada thing," said activist Estella Morales, who carried a clipboard filled with voter registration forms as she walked outside the barriers and chatted with protesters. "After three years, he's decided to come (to Las Vegas). Why? Because there's dollar signs here?"
The bulk of the protest centered around the Yucca Mountain recommendation, but all Bush administration policies were fair game. Many called for an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq, while a series of handmade signs railed against "broken promises" on issues ranging from Medicare to family values.
Loyal Watkins is chairman of the Democratic Central Committee in Nye County, where Yucca Mountain is located. Watkins said he drove the 120-mile round trip from Pahrump for one reason: "To show Bush we don't like him."
It was a common sentiment among the protesters. Several carried signs linking Bush and his Iraq policy to Adolf Hitler.
People who watched the protest were less emphatic.
Patrick Prohaska of Iowa City, Iowa, said he heard about the protest when he turned on the television in his room at Treasure Island. The 39-year-old doctoral student in religious studies decided not to join in, but he asked a passerby to take his picture with protesters in the background.
"I haven't seen a sign I disagree with," he said.
Houston residents Denny and Karel Mulcahy said they walked down Las Vegas Boulevard from their room at the Aladdin, hoping to glimpse the president's motorcade. They described themselves as Republicans and Bush supporters as they watched the protest from the bridge leading into The Venetian.
Denny said he didn't care for the signs that attacked Bush personally, but he sympathized with those who came out to protest Yucca Mountain.
"I don't know," he said with a small smile. "If someone wanted to bury nuclear waste in my back yard, I think I would be protesting, too."
A contingent of Venetian security guards and Las Vegas police officers stood by during the protest, but no arrests or citations were reported.
Bush was still at his fund-raising luncheon inside The Venetian when the signs from Local 226 were hauled away and the protest began to break up about 12:15 p.m.
As the president boarded Air Force One to fly to Phoenix about 2 p.m., Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., took part in a news conference held to criticize Medicare changes that Bush celebrated during his visit to Las Vegas.
Berkley described the Medicare bill passed by the Senate early Tuesday morning as "the worst piece of legislation I have seen in the five years I have been in the U.S. House of Representatives."
Berkley said she voted against the measure, which the House passed 220-215 early Saturday, because it does not help seniors and it represents "the first step toward privatizing Medicare."
As she spoke from an office complex on Sahara Avenue, Berkley was flanked by a box of lemons and an inner tube painted to look like a donut, which was meant to represent a hole in the bill's prescription drug coverage.
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Las Vegas Review-Journal
November 26, 2003
Bush mispronunciation disrespects state, critics say
By Sean Whaley
Review-Journal Capital Bureau
CARSON CITY -- Memo to: Advisers and handlers of President Bush.
Re: Correct pronunciation of Nevada.
It is pronounced Ne-vaaa-da. The middle syllable rhymes with glad. It is not pronounced Ne-vah-da.
"If there is one thing besides Yucca Mountain that sets people's teeth on edge, it's pronouncing the state as Ne-vah-da," said state Archivist Guy Rocha. "He's the president, and he ought to get it right. Nothing personal."
Bush, in his first visit to the state since being elected president, on Tuesday repeatedly used what most residents believe to be an incorrect pronunciation for the name of their state.
"Proper pronunciation shows a sensitivity and appreciation of the place," Rocha said. "I don't know if it detracts from the message, but it does distract from the message."
The president's staff should have made sure he knew to pronounce the name of the state correctly, he said.
During Bush's speech at Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center, he repeatedly used the incorrect pronunciation. During his fund-raising luncheon at The Venetian, he used the correct pronunciation, then returned to the incorrect one.
Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said the mispronunciation shows Bush, who won the state in the 2000 election, doesn't care enough about the state to pronounce its name correctly.
"They take such pains to orchestrate these trips and to make sure everything is politically correct," she said. "You would think the name of the state would be a simple piece of that."
But Titus said many Southern Nevada residents are so upset about Yucca Mountain, among other Bush policies, that the mispronunciation is only a minor irritant.
However, mispronunciation of Nevada crosses party lines.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Democratic presidential candidate from Connecticut, said Nevada incorrectly during a fund-raising visit to Las Vegas last week.
When former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, also a Democratic presidential hopeful, visited Las Vegas last month, he initially used the incorrect pronunciation, but was corrected.
Assemblyman Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, said the president ought to pronounce Nevada correctly, but Bush's message was more important.
"There are a lot more important things to worry about than that," he said. "The visit itself is far more important. Clearly some people will make hay out of it, and that's OK. That's the way it works."
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Las Vegas Review-Journal
November 26, 2003
JANE ANN MORRISON: Riding with the chief: Nevada Republicans get face time with Bush
Bragging rights is being able to say that on President Bush's first official visit to Las Vegas, when he was upbeat both about an economic upsurge and a historic expansion of Medicare, you got some "limo time" with the big guy.
With just four seats available, limo time is reserved for the state's highest ranking or most loyal Republicans.
On Tuesday, the honors and bragging rights went to the GOP Congressmen Jim Gibbons and Jon Porter, Gov. Kenny Guinn and first lady Dema, and Attorney General Brian Sandoval.
So if you had face time with the president and the only way he could escape would be to leap out of a moving car, what would you bring up?
Porter said he did bring up Yucca Mountain.
The Guinns, who have known the Bush family from the president's years as governor of Texas, talked issues and family.
Sandoval answered presidential questions, such as: "Is the mob still involved in Las Vegas?"
"I answered, 'Absolutely not,' " said Sandoval, state chairman of Bush-Cheney '04.
The Guinns got the most limo time, traveling with Bush from the airport to Spring Valley Hospital to The Venetian and back to the airport.
The two congressmen, who were praised during both of Bush's speeches for voting for the Medicare prescription drug bill, each got limo time, as did Sandoval.
Porter admitted he swiped a napkin and matchbox emblazoned with the presidential seal.
Sandoval said Bush was "very inquisitive" about Las Vegas and the state's growth issues and was up on some of the political personalities, such as Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman.
Bush asked whether Secretary of State Dean Heller and Treasurer Brian Krolicki were "serious candidates" to challenge Democratic Sen. Harry Reid and discussed the disadvantages of starting fund raising late, Sandoval said.
Staff members gave him some insight, Sandoval said. They said that when Bush leans into the microphone as he did during his Medicare speech, "You know he's into it." In poker, that's called a tell, so watch for that in future speeches.
Riding with the chief executive "is a great opportunity to spend some quality time with the president," Guinn said. He didn't bring up the Yucca Mountain Project. "I talked to some of the national news media and told them it was something we had agreed to disagree on."
Nor did Bush see the massive group of protesters outside The Venetian, Guinn said.
"We talked about growth, we talked about schools, about Medicare," Guinn said. Bush asked him about the $833 million tax increase.
Bush has a job to do in that limo. He would talk to the Guinns while waving continuously to the crowds lining the motorcade.
Porter said the subjects that came up during his time with Bush included Nevada's medical liability issues, education, growth, infrastructure and the large amount of nonrevenue generating public lands. "He touched issues that were very germane to Nevada," Porter said.
In their brief conversation about storing nuclear waste in Nevada, Bush reiterated the need to store waste because of national security, Porter said. "I always bring it up when I see him and reiterate our opposition," Porter said.
What would you have talked to the president about?
I would have opted for the Patriot Act, but I never got the chance.
The closest I ever got was a vice presidential limo ride when Vice President Dan Quayle was running for re-election in 1992. I did an issue interview during the last leg back to the airport, and when the limo pulled up to Air Force Two, Quayle asked about Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton's visit shortly before, when Clinton had time to golf but not to talk to the news media. Quayle indicated he would have been crucified if he had done that. I spent a few minutes explaining what had happened and the subsequent negative news coverage and jumped out of the limo grinning.
Review-Journal photographer Jeff Scheid said the photographers couldn't figure out why Quayle wasn't getting out, and when I emerged with a big smile, there was some talk of a bawdy nature. I explained I was just sharing news (OK, gossiping) with the VP.
Now that was unorchestrated access.
E-mail Jane Ann Morrison at jane@reviewjournal.com or call 383-0275.
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Las Vegas Review-Journal
November 26, 2003
Energy bill held tough choices
Some felt subsidies offset 'green' benefits
By John G. Edwards
Review-Journal
Nevada's congressional delegation will face a difficult choice if Republican leaders revive an energy bill early next year that the Senate was unable to pass before Congress' holiday recess.
The proposed legislation, which was approved in the House last week, included several tax incentives that could help renewable energy projects in the state, but it also included incentives for nuclear and coal power.
Dan Geary, Nevada organizer for the National Environmental Trust, acknowledged that some provisions of the energy bill could foster solar, wind and geothermal projects in Nevada.
"(But) the cost for accomplishing that is absolutely too high," he said. "It gives a truckful of cash and a green light not only for new sources of nuclear power but also new sources of nuclear waste.
"Doing that simply only adds to the pressure for a political solution to the waste problem, rather than a scientific one," Geary said. "The political one is Yucca Mountain," the nuclear waste disposal site that the Department of Energy proposes to establish 100 miles north of Las Vegas.
Jon Wellinghoff, an energy lawyer and advocate of renewable energy, agreed, but noted many of the proposed bill's positives.
"There was a lot of good in the bill for Nevada, but also there was a lot of bad in the bill for Nevada," Wellinghoff said. "Certainly, there would be more renewable development in Nevada if the bill had passed."
The Senate gave up trying to pass the legislation on Monday after it fell two votes shy of cutting off debate Friday so the full Senate could vote on the bill.
Among the bill's proposed incentives would be a production tax credit of 1.8 cents per kilowatt hour of power for electricity from geothermal and solar energy projects. It would have extended the production tax credit for wind energy, which now expires Dec. 31.
Homeowners would qualify for a 15 percent tax credit, up to a maximum of $2,000, for installation of solar equipment.
The legislation also provided for a government survey of geothermal resources, which are concentrated in Nevada, and more favorable leasing and royalty provisions for geothermal power developers using sites on federal land.
Not all renewable developers were happy with the bill, however. The production tax credit would be available for 10 years to qualified wind power producers, but producers of geothermal and solar energy would get only five years of production tax credits.
Gary Bailey, western area manager for Solargenix Energy, said the bill didn't treat solar and geothermal projects fairly when compared to wind projects. His company is developing a 50-megawatt solar thermal power plant under a contract with Nevada Power.
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., opposed the bill although he liked some of its provisions for renewable energy.
"The energy bill with its $75 billion price tag has serious problems with its policy, process and pork," Reid said in a statement. "It continues old failed energy policies through outrageous subsidies to the coal, natural gas, oil, and nuclear industries that were hatched in secret by the Cheney task force."
Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., opposed the bill. Jack Finn, Ensign's spokesman, said the vote was "a tough decision" for him. The bill, however, "was just laden with a lot of things that could prove to be costly down the road."
Ensign, however, voted to override the potential filibuster.
"He felt the bill should live or die on its merits," Finn said.
Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., opposed the bill as well, mainly because it increased coverage and liability coverage for the nuclear industry, spokesman David Cherry said.
However, Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Sen. Pete Dominici, R-N.M., chairman of the Energy and Natural Resource Committee have said they hope to bring the measure back early next year.
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Las Vegas SUN
November 25, 2003
Nevadans raise safety, security concerns about Yucca Mountain
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevada officials accused the Department of Energy on Tuesday of shielding documents that reveal "dramatic" safety and security concerns about a proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain.
But Yucca Mountain dump representatives disputed the allegations, saying the documents explain the need to move the nation's waste from power plants scattered around the country to a permanent site.
Bob Loux, executive director of Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects, laid out his claim in a Tuesday letter to the federal Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
DOE documents recently obtained show "up to 60 nuclear criticalities may plausibly occur inside the mountain, and that the conditional probability of occurrence may be greater than one in one thousand per year," Loux wrote.
Loux, who asked the NWTRB to investigate possible uncontrolled chain reactions, said the DOE should have made the information public.
"The discovery of these once-hidden documents indicates that DOE was well aware of the risk of waste package damage and radioactive releases into the environment, but attempted to hide it, knowing that internal criticality may be one of the most, if not the most, significant safety issues in repository licensing," Loux said in the letter.
Loux also said the DOE failed to consider the potential for an explosion in the event terrorists used portable, armor-piercing missiles to puncture a fuel cask en route to the dump. He said a cask explosion would be "the ultimate dirty bomb."
The dump, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is being designed to contain 77,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel in tunnels mined 1,000 feet below the surface.
Yucca Mountain officials said the report Loux obtained under the Freedom of Information Act had to do with leaving the nuclear waste at power plants, not Yucca Mountain, and the claims about possible targeting of casks by terrorists was "mere conjecture."
Yucca spokesman Allen Benson said the project is safe. He said the documents show leaving the nuclear waste at power plants around the country could cause the dangerous reactions.
DOE spokesman Joe Davis, who had not seen the report, defended turning Yucca Mountain into a nuclear waste dump.
"Yucca mountain is safe," he said. "Our science proves it is safe."
The Bush administration picked Yucca Mountain in July 2002 as the place to entomb the nation's commercial, industrial and military nuclear waste.
The state is challenging site selection standards, Environmental Protection Agency radioactivity standards and Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules for licensing the dump in federal court.
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Pahrump Valley Times
November 26, 2003
A lesson in buzzwords, journalism
In the lead-up to George Bush's Nevada visit Tuesday, Democrats were watching their language. When Bush in February 2002 endorsed Yucca Mountain as the site for a dump for high-level nuclear wastes, Democrats quickly accused him of breaking his September 2000 promise to veto the dump. The problem is, that's not what Bush said. He never promised to veto the dumpsite. What Bush said was that he would veto any effort to speed up the selection of Yucca Mountain before the scientific site selection process was completed: "As I've said before, I believe the best science must prevail in the designation of any high level nuclear waste repository. As president, I would not sign legislation that would send nuclear waste to any proposed site - either on a permanent or temporary basis - unless it has been deemed scientifically safe." The U.S. Department of Energy eventually announced it had deemed the site safe and that it had adequate scientific evidence to say Yucca was the best place, whereupon Bush recommended the site to Congress. It is, of course, very possible to argue with the Energy Department's studies of the site, which in many cases have all the convincing credibility of the Warren Commission report. But that's a very different thing from saying Bush broke his promise. Over the last year, Democrats have altered their language from saying Bush broke his promise to veto the Yucca site, to saying he broke his promise to rely on sound science. That, for instance, is the line taken by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Leiberman Nov. 19 when he was in Las Vegas. It was also used by a group of Democratic leaders at a Monday news conference near a Los Angeles/Tonopah/Salt Lake City freeway interchange in Las Vegas - the idea was to emphasize the transportation risks. On Saturday, Nevada Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins said in a radio address that Bush "ignored the concerns of independent scientists and rushed to judgment." For Democrats, it was a much more marketable pitch when they accused Bush of breaking his promise to veto; the accusation about sound science involves a more subjective judgment and fuzzes up their ability to make a simple, clear-cut case against him. The problem is that accusing Bush of breaking a promise to veto is simply false, so the "sound science" claim has come into vogue. But the interesting thing is that even though the Democrats have become more honest in their language, journalists (particularly television journalists) are still making the case for them. And the Democrats, of course, probably knew that when they shifted pitches. Conservative thinker Hugh Kenner made one of my favorite observations about journalism when he said that newspapers are a "low definitional medium" and that it is a mistake to tell a reporter anything the meaning of which depends on the placement of a comma. If that is true of newspapers, consider how much more it applies to television, whose half hour newscasts, when set up in type, take up less than one newspaper page. In the 1970s Jerry Brown as California governor was accused of skillfully abusing this characteristic of news coverage through the use of something he called buzz words - a term that entered the political lexicon. Brown's cabinet member J. D. Lorenz revealed the technique when he left Brown's employ and wrote a book. He described Brown talking about one of his campaign commercials on crime: "Jerry ran through the ad verbatim, and every five words or so he would chop the air with his right hand and say 'Buzz word.' 'Buzz word, buzz word, buzz word, buzz word, buzz word,' he said gleefully. 'That ad has five buzzwords in it. I sound tougher ... and I haven't proposed anything the liberals can criticize me for. In fact,' he crowed, 'I haven't committed myself to do anything at all'." Lorenz defined the term as "a word or phrase which, when spoken in front of a particular audience, would summon up in their minds a series of associations that were never directly stated by the speaker." Journalists have never found a defense against buzzwords. Newspaper and television managements are not likely to give reporters the kind of space or time they need to describe situations with the kind of subtleties and distinctions they deserve. As a result, Democrats no longer have to take the chance of getting caught lying about what Bush actually promised on Yucca Mountain. They just have to say "George Bush" and "broken promise" and "Yucca Mountain" in sentence after sentence, and it won't matter if they get the facts right - journalists will do the job for them. The term "broken promise" will appear in story lead sentences and headlines and people will come away from those stories with an association the Democrats never actually enunciated. And one of the reasons it succeeds as a tactic is that back in September 2000 when Bush made his original pledge, television journalists used the words "veto" and "Bush" and "Yucca" so sloppily and imprecisely. Thus, for example, on its footage of the Democrats' freeway news conference Monday, one Reno television station ran two words across the bottom of the screen as the footage ran: "Broken Promises." Dennis Myers is a veteran state capital reporter. His column Against the Grain appears here on Wednesdays.
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Las Vegas SUN
November 25, 2003
Protests mark Bush's first visit to Las Vegas as president
By Ken Ritter
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) - President Bush touched down in Las Vegas on Tuesday, hoping to raise funds and support among Nevada residents, who turned out in force to show their anger at his decisions to approve Yucca Mountain and reform Medicare.
Bush addressed Medicare and medical liability issues at a recently opened Las Vegas hospital and attended a $2,000 a plate fund-raiser luncheon at the Venetian hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
Protesters picketed both locations as Bush made his first visit to Nevada as president .
Security was tight outside The Venetian hotel-casino on the Strip as about 1,200 people peacefully walked a line separated from tourists by metal barricades. Police reported no arrests.
Many demonstrators carried signs reading "No Nuke Dump in Nevada." Others brought handmade signs referring to broken promises and issues including the Iraq war, union policies, Medicare, abortion policy, and the Patriot Act.
Opponents of Yucca Mountain say Bush broke a campaign pledge to let "sound science" decide if the nation's nuclear repository should open 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Last July, Congress approved the plan to store 77,000 tons of radioactive waste in the state. The Energy Department is preparing to apply to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to open the repository in 2010.
"As a Nevadan, of course, I'm upset I'm upset about Yucca Mountain," said Diane Hart, 42, a retired Las Vegas businesswoman. "But he's not going to change his mind. What we have to do is change presidents."
Peggy Maze Johnson, executive director of the Las Vegas-based advocacy group Citizen Alert and the organizer of the demonstration, distributed copies of a May 3, 2000, letter from Bush, then the governor of Texas. Bush's letter tells Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn that as president, Bush "would not sign legislation that would send nuclear waste to any proposed site unless it's been deemed scientifically safe."
Bush and Congress picked the Yucca Mountain site with the Energy Department still addressing 293 scientific questions.
"I think it was a done deal before he ever took office," said Marsha Forkos, Sierra Club southern Nevada group chairwoman and another protest organizer. "We want to make him aware that Nevada is not going to just roll over and play dead."
Earlier Bush spoke for 30 minutes to crowd of about 200 people at Spring Valley Hospital.
The president called Tuesday's vote by the Senate to approve sweeping changes to Medicare a "major victory" that will strengthen and modernize the system. The legislation that includes a new prescription drug benefit for 40 million older and disabled Americans goes to Bush for his signature.
"We inherited a good Medicare system. It has worked, but it was becoming old and needed help," Bush said.
Bush also discussed tort reform, calling for a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages, which drew a loud applause from the audience of mostly health care professionals.
Arthur Fusco, chief of surgery at the hospital, said getting a handle on doctor insurance premiums remains vital to trauma centers.
Nevada has two trauma center, one in Las Vegas and one in Reno.
"Trauma centers are closing and good doctors are leaving," he said. "They are migrating where they can make a living."
Jackie Johnson, a surgical nurse at a Las Vegas hospital and a member of the Service Employees International Union, joined about 45 union members who waved signs and chanted as the president's motorcade arrived at the hospital.
Johnson said the Medicare changes proposed by the Bush administration and coupled with changes to worker overtime policies would mean "more work, less help, sicker patients."
"We need to study the broken system before making changes so fast," she said.
Denise Kelley, vice president of the Nevada Alliance for Retired Americans, said her group planned afternoon news conferences in Las Vegas and Reno to blame Bush for breaking promises to Americans on Medicare and prescription drug coverage.
"What happens when you have a prescription that's $279 for a 90-day supply, and you're on a pension?" asked Kelley, 77, a retired government worker who is on Medicare.
"Seniors are not going to benefit overall," said Scott Watts, president of the alliance that represents 7,000 retirees in the state. "Pharmaceuticals and insurance companies will have a windfall."
Bush flew into McCarran International Airport aboard Air Force One, where he was greeted by many of the state's Republican leaders. Bush also shook hands with Maria Konold-Soto, a local volunteer who is active with the Medical Reserve Corps in Las Vegas. The president has been recognizing volunteers around the country.
Bush was due to fly to Scottsdale, Ariz., after visiting Las Vegas and then back to Crawford, Texas, to spend Thanksgiving with his family.
Bush didn't visit Las Vegas when he was campaigning in 2000, but did visit Lake Tahoe to raise $300,000 for his campaign and $240,000 for the Republican Party. He carried the state and its four electoral votes in 2000, 49.5 percent to 45.9 percent.
Because of redistricting, the state now has five electoral votes.
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Contributing to this story were Adam Goldman and Christina Almeida in Las Vegas and Sandra Chereb in Reno.
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Las Vegas SUN
November 25, 2003
Democrats rip Bush stance on Yucca
By Jace Radke
<jace@lasvegassun.com>
Las Vegas SUN
Yucca Mountain isn't likely to be a big part of President Bush's agenda during his 3 1/2-hour fund-raising stop in Las Vegas, but Democratic leaders are making the president's strong support for storing nuclear waste in Nevada an issue.
Rep. Shelley Berkley, former Gov. Bob Miller, state Sen. Dina Titus and other Democratic leaders say that while campaigning in 2000 Bush said he would rely on "sound science" in deciding whether to store 77,000 tons of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. He has since signed legislation to clear the way for the project, they said.
"I hope while they're having lunch with the president, (Secretary of State) Dean Heller and (Attorney General) Brian Sandoval ask him why he broke his promise," Titus said Monday. Both are Republicans, and Sandoval is the state chairman of Bush's 2004 re-election campaign.
"I hope they ask the president why he ignored science and went with politics and money," Titus said. "I hope voters remember this and send him packing in the next election. I'd like to send him to his own repository."
Titus and others railed against the Bush administration and the storage of nuclear waste 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas during a news conference at the top of a downtown parking garage overlooking the Spaghetti Bowl.
"We're talking about 110,000 shipments of nuclear waste passing through 43 states over the next 38 years," Berkley said. "It will be traveling within one mile of 50 million Americans."
Bush arrived in Las Vegas about 9:30 a.m. and was expected to be back on Air Force One headed for Phoenix by 1 p.m. Bush was scheduled to give a speech focusing on Medicare to a group of seniors at Spring Valley Hospital and attend a fund-raising lunch for his re-election campaign at The Venetian.
The visit will be Bush's first to Nevada as president, although he visited Lake Tahoe in June 2000 as a presidential candidate. Today's lunch is expected to cost between $1,000 and $2,000 a plate and be attended by as many as 500 people, while protests regarding Yucca Mountain take place outside the resort.
In July Vice President Dick Cheney's Las Vegas visit was met with Yucca protests as he raised $300,000 in campaign funds at the Spanish Trail Country Club.
Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, said he doesn't believe the argument that transporting all of the nation's nuclear waste to one repository would be safer than storing it in place at the 131 nuclear reactors around the country.
"All he has to do is ask his own Secret Service contingent if he is easier to guard in place or while he is moving around," Perkins said.
Miller said Democratic presidential candidates have been honest on the issue.
"They have not lied to Nevadans, and many voted against Yucca Mountain," Miller said. "There is no way on God's green earth that they can be worse than what we have now."
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State of Nevada
Agency for Nuclear Projects
www.state.nv.us/nucwaste/
nwpo@nuc.state.nv.us
775-687-3744
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