The following is a written statement by Jill Lancelot, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense on the Senate decision to move forward with loan guarantees and other subsidies to the nuclear power industry.

Washington, D.C. – The Senate moved closer today to fully bankrolling the expansion of the nuclear power industry. This increase in subsidies is unprecedented and represents one of the largest corporate welfare handouts in our nation’s history. While private sector investors take a pass on the nuclear industry, Taxpayers are being forced to become a silent partner in these risky ventures.

Voting down this amendment continues a long tradition of subsidizing nuclear power more than any other energy source in America. The Senate energy bill offers a series of unusual taxpayer subsidies for nuclear generators, including federal loan guarantees that lack guidelines for interest rates or repayment terms. Additionally, “Power Purchase Agreements” will hamstring the federal government into buying nuclear power at above market rates. Offering these subsidies to a mature industry grants nuclear power an unfair advantage over other energy alternatives, and would further distort electricity markets.

Between 1948 and 1998, taxpayers spent more than $66 billion on nuclear energy research and subsidies. This is the latest effort by a failing industry to preserve unjustified subsidies for the normal costs of doing business. Even with these additional billions in subsidies, private investors will shy away from nuclear power because it is much more expensive than other conventional energy sources. The federal government shouldn't bankroll the expansion of an industry that Wall Street is unwilling to support.

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