This in from HEAL Utah today:

Take a minute to call Senator Bob Bennett (202) 224-5444.

Late Tuesday night, Utah’s own Sen. Bennett snuck in a provision to President Obama’s economic stimulus package that would allow as much as $50 BILLION of your tax dollars to be used as loan guarantees for construction of new nuclear reactors.

These loan guarantees could help fund projects like Aaron Tilton’s proposed Green River nuclear power plant. That means your tax dollars would finance the production and storage of high-level waste in Utah, and the enormous abuse of our water, just so states like California can turn on their lights (read more about why a Utah nuclear power plant will not likely power Utah here).

It’s not too late to stop this taxpayer handout. Please call Senator Bennett today (202-224-5444) and tell him how disappointed you are by his efforts to prop up the nuclear industry at the expense of ordinary Utahns. In an ultimate show of hypocrisy, Sen. Bennett says he plans to vote against the final economic stimulus package anyway. Tell Sen. Bennett you hope these nuclear loan guarantees are stripped from the ultimate package and that he can save face by working to undo his cover of night actions.

You can also email Sen. Bennett here: http://bennett.senate.gov/contact/emailmain.html, though a quick call is what’s most needed.

In these dire economic times, taxpayers should NOT be put on the hook for billions of dollars of risky nuclear reactor projects. Yet, that is exactly what Sen. Bennett’s nuclear loan guarantee plan would, well, guarantee. The Congressional Budget Office estimates half of new reactor projects will default on their loans. The banks won’t gamble their money on such a risky venture, but apparently Senator Bennett is willing to gamble ours.

What we do need is an economic stimulus package that will jumpstart the economy and provide jobs over the next two years. That is President Obama’s intention. Unlike the decade or so it takes for a nuclear reactor to get off the ground, investing in solar, geothermal, wind, and efficiency will produce jobs and clean energy in the next 1-2 years. Sen. Bennett has said he wants any stimulus package to protect taxpayers, yet his nuclear pork puts taxpayers at risk and helps no one but his industry buddies.

Please call Sen. Bennett today (202) 224-5444. Here’s a sample message you can leave:

“Hi my name is ____ and I live in ____. I am calling to tell Sen. Bennett how disappointed I am that he has worked to put up $50 billion of taxpayer money for the nuclear industry in the economic stimulus package. The banks won’t gamble their money on nuclear projects, so why is Sen. Bennett willing to gamble so much of ours? I hope that these nuclear loan guarantees are stripped from the stimulus plan and that Sen. Bennett works to help taxpayers, not just his nuclear buddies. Thank you.”

After you make your call, don’t forget to sign up for our citizen lobby training next week: http://healutah.org/lobbyrsvp.

To read more, visit: http://healutah.org/news/energypolicy/013009

Thanks for all you do.

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HEAL Utah

68 S. Main St., Suite 400
Salt Lake City, UT 84101

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Please visit us online at http://www.healutah.org