Sen. Portman's Response On Local Piketon Impact Of President Obama's Proposed Budget

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), former director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and a member of the Senate Budget Committee, expressed concerns today over the lack of funding for critical projects provided in President Obama’s budget proposal, such as the American Centrifuge Project in Piketon.

“While I am pleased to see that the budget still includes the loan guarantees we need to spur nuclear energy production, including the funding necessary to move forward with the American Centrifuge Project in Piketon, I’m concerned that the Obama Administration has not provided Piketon the funding needed to maintain the accelerated cleanup schedule that it announced in 2008, which not only threatens jobs in Southern Ohio, but could also cost the federal government billions of dollars by extending the length of the cleanup.

The Piketon Centrifuge Project will play an important role in America’s nuclear renaissance as we look to expand renewable energy initiatives here at home.