Transcripts

Congress May Be Ready To Follow President Bush's Budget Plan

SUSIE GHARIB: Congress is putting the finishing touches on a half a trillion-dollar budget compromise that largely follows the president's spending blueprint. Lawmakers are also trying to put in provisions to help key constituents. As Darren Gersh reports, coal companies and nuclear power generators are some of the biggest winners this year, winning close to $30 billion in loan guarantees for new plants.

DARREN GERSH, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: For the nuclear power industry, the new Federal loan guarantees come at an important time. Five applications to build advanced reactors are now pending before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Nuclear industry spokesman Steven Kerekes says the Federal backstop will help secure the financing needed to build the first new reactor in decades.

STEVE KEREKES, NUCLEAR ENERGY INSTITUTE: It's our belief that once we get those first handful of new applications through the process, if they go through successfully, then that helps take the uncertainty out of the licensing process and companies can then go forward with greater confidence.

GERSH: The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates the $20 billion in Federal loan guarantees Congress is about to provide will help the nuclear power industry secure $25 billion in new private investment. But environmentalists say a policy decision that important should not have been slipped into a massive Federal funding bill with little public debate. Public Citizen's Tyson Slocum adds the loan guarantees essentially leave taxpayers liable for nuclear waste and safety.

TYSON SLOCUM, DIRECTOR, PUBLIC CITIZEN ENERGY PROGRAM: And when you haven't built something in 30-plus years, you're going to have some growing pains. You're going to have some learning on the job. And I think that, given all of these risks, given the enormous financial cost, this could be a boondoggle in the making.

GERSH: There is little doubt that nuclear power now enjoys strong bipartisan support. Speaking in Virginia, the president today said nuclear power was one way to help the nation reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

BUSH: If you're worried about whether or not we can continue to have the electricity necessary to foster economic growth and vitality, you ought to be for nuclear power.

GERSH: Environmentalists say Congress has sent a surprising signal about the energy sources it prefers, rejecting tax breaks for solar and wind power, while backing much more generous loan guarantees for new coal and nuclear technologies. Darren Gersh, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Washington.