June 19, 2002: Senator Harry Reid

Art Bell interviews Nevada Senator Harry Reid, the assistant Democratic leader in the Senate, about the Bush administration's decision to designate Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste repository. Reid argues that President Bush betrayed his campaign promise to Nevadans by pushing forward without sound science, noting that 292 scientific investigations remain incomplete and that the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board deemed the science poor.

Reid makes the case that transporting 77,000 tons of nuclear waste across 43 states poses a far greater danger than leaving it in on-site dry cask storage at existing reactor locations. He describes the shipments as 120,000 potential targets of opportunity for terrorists, each cask weighing 135 tons. He notes that on-site storage has been proven safe for 100 years at a fraction of the cost, allowing time for new technologies to emerge. Art presses him on whether Nevada should negotiate for financial compensation, and Reid flatly refuses, saying that once you discuss price, you become a prostitute.

Reid also addresses the secrecy surrounding Vice President Cheney's Energy Task Force and the political math needed to sustain Governor Guinn's expected veto in the Senate, where he counts roughly 37 to 38 votes toward the 51 needed to block the override.