Nick Rahall is at it again
July 13, 2010
Representative Nick Rahall (D-West Virginia) is at it again. This time he is going after the uranium industry.According to the National Mining Association:
"The House National Resources Committee on July 14 will attempt to pass legislation introduced by Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) that will threaten our energy security.
"Included in the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources (CLEAR) Act is a provision to reclassify uranium -- currently considered as a locatable mineral under the general mining laws -- as leasable under the Mineral Leasing Act. Making uranium leasable not only negatively impacts the domestic uranium mining industry, but also the economy and national security of the United States.
"The U.S. is already over 95 percent import-reliant on foreign sources of uranium. Moving uranium from a locatable mineral to a leasable one could deny access to some of the nation’s richest deposits of uranium and dramatically weaken America’s ability to produce affordable energy using abundant domestic resources. This action will force America to increase its dependence on foreign sources of uranium by putting an end to growth of a viable domestic uranium mining industry, an industry that creates high paying jobs with good benefits and provides resources critical to meeting our nation’s goals of decreasing our reliance on foreign sources of energy."
Please take a moment to register your opinion with legislators. The National Mining Association has made it very easy by providing an online letter -- it only takes a minute to input your information and fire off a copy via email. You can do so here.
Rahall is facing a tough fight to retain his seat in the House, which he has held since the 1970s. The challenger is Spike Maynard, a Republican and a former State Supreme Court Justice, prosecutor and Air Force veteran. 
