Piketon plant gets money in 2013 bill
The Dispatch – A proposed uranium-enrichment plant in Piketon, Ohio, received a boost yesterday when a Senate subcommittee included $150 million in a federal spending bill for research and development at the plant.
The Senate Energy and Water Subcommittee included the money in its spending bill for fiscal 2013. Last week, a House subcommittee added $100 million in a spending bill at the request of House Speaker John Boehner, R-West Chester, and Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Bainbridge Township.
While supporters of the plant are heartened to see it receive support from both houses of Congress, one sticking point remains: Neither Congress nor the White House has approved money for fiscal year 2012 for the plant, potentially jeopardizing its chances of moving forward.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, requested the 2013 money in the Senate bill. Brown said he will work to make sure the plant has the resources it needs to succeed.
“But first things first,” he said. “The House must join the Senate in passing resources to keep (the plant) alive this year.”
