Whitfield Lauds Big Win for Paducah Plant | News | Congressman Ed Whitfield

News | Congressman Ed Whitfield | United States Representative

Whitfield Lauds Big Win for Paducah Plant September 24, 2008 WASHINGTON - U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield (KY-01) today praised the outcome of a long fought battle to protect the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) from large Russian imports of low enriched uranium.

"The Paducah plant and all of western Kentucky scored a major victory today," Whitfield said. "The measure passed in the House will ensure that the Russians cannot flood the U.S. uranium market, which would make our country more dependent on foreign energy sources and diminish the value of our own uranium. The PGDP is too important to the economy of western Kentucky to let it be threatened by the dumping of Russian uranium and I am pleased to have been part of this successful fight for its survival."

Whitfield supported, and the House passed, H.R. 2638, the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act of 2009. This bill will fund the federal government through March of 2009. Included in the legislation is a measure initiated by Whitfield which limits the amount of Russian uranium that can be imported into the United States.

Whitfield introduced and championed legislation, H.R. 4929, that would protect the U.S. market from being flooded with foreign uranium. The measure would also prevent the U.S. from becoming dependent on foreign sources of uranium. The introduction of this legislation launched bipartisan negotiations in Congress, resulting in the measure passed today.

The legislation passed in the House will limit Russian imports into the U.S. market to 20% of U.S. domestic demand, the amount currently allowed to be imported as established by a 1992 agreement. The agreement is set to expire in 2013 and a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Court jeopardized ongoing negotiations to continue a similar compromise. The court ruled that the enriched uranium being imported from Russia was a "service," not a good, and therefore did not have to comply with the agreement. This would mean that Russia would be permitted to sell as much uranium into the U.S. market as they wanted. The provision passed today would ensure that Russia is limited to its current sales limits.

Whitfield praised the leadership of United Steelworkers Local 550, and its president Rob Ervin, who championed the legislation and whose work and persistence led to the passage of the legislation.

"It was a pleasure to work with Rob Ervin and the United Steelworkers to see this important measure enacted," Whitfield said. "Their unwavering support for the legislation and their counsel were invaluable to me and my staff and all of us should be grateful for their efforts."

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