©2025 League of Conservation Voters
2012 Scorecard Vote
168
249
14
Issues
Representative Michael Burgess (R-TX) offered an amendment to H.R. 5325, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2013, which would eliminate $100 million in the bill for uranium enrichment research by the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC), a company long beset by technical and financial troubles. This subsidy would support the production of nuclear materials for use in commercial nuclear power reactors and nuclear weapons. On top of the hazardous waste generated by the mining and enriching of uranium, the radioactive waste produced by nuclear power plants is among the world’s most dangerous substances, and storage of this waste poses significant safety concerns. Particularly in a constrained budgetary environment, the federal government should prioritize investments in clean, renewable energy rather than nuclear power, a mature technology that poses an array of major risks to the environment and public health. On June 6, the House rejected the Burgess amendment by a vote of 168-249 (House roll call vote 329). YES IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. H.R. 5325 subsequently passed the House, but the Senate took no action on this legislation and the Burgess amendment was not included in the spending measure maintaining current funding levels for the federal government through March 27, 2013, which President Obama signed into law on September 28.
©2025 League of Conservation Voters