mr. chairman , i feel like the skunk at the office party , but i rise to oppose the funding for the yucca mountain project contained in this bill . 
this bill shortchanges water projects and energy technology research and development , research into technologies to harness the sun and wind and reduce our dependence on foreign oil . 
yet there is 15 percent more funding for yucca mountain than there was in last year 's bill despite the fact that this project is unsafe and riddled with problems and , in my estimation , can and never will be built . 
i want to update my colleagues on the recent developments regarding yucca mountain , and i sincerely hope that they listen . 
last month , the department of energy revealed that scientists from the u.s. geological survey who were working on the water infiltration and climate studies at yucca mountain actually falsified documentation . 
water infiltration and climate are two of the most fundamental factors involved in establishing whether or not the proposed repository can safely isolate radioactive waste and prevent groundwater contamination . 
in all my years fighting this project , i knew yucca mountain was not scientifically sound , but i never dreamed and never thought that federal employees would purposely falsify documents to cover up the lack of basic science . 
in 90 pages of e-mails , the usgs employees fabricated dates and names of programs used in modeling for quality assurance audits and deleted information that did not fit favorable and hoped-for conclusions . 
the employees made it clear that quality assurance was not a priority of this project , but rather , an obstacle . 
let me share with my colleagues some of the comments made by these employees , and i quote : `` do n't look at the last four lines . 
those lines are a mystery . 
i 've deleted the lines from the official qa version of the files . 
in the end , i keep track of two sets of files , the ones that will keep the qa happy and the ones that were actually used. '' another e-mail says , `` like you said all along , the yucca mountain project has now reached a point where they need to have certain items work no matter what , and the infiltration maps are on that list . 
if usgs ca n't find a way to make it work , someone else will. '' and finally , `` i do n't have a clue when these programs were installed . 
so i 've made up the dates and names . 
this is as good as it 's going to get . 
if they need proof , i will be happy to make up more stuff. '' no one better dare say to me on this floor that yucca mountain is based on sound science . 
it is not . 
last year , the u.s. court of appeals ruled that the radiation standards for the proposed repository did not follow recommendations of the national academy of sciences and would not protect the health and safety of our nation . 
the difference between the findings and the radiation standards set by the epa , a mere 290 , 000 years . 
mr. chairman , the doe has known for some time that this project was fatally flawed , that corners were cut , that the science did not support the conclusions and that the data were doctored . 
that the doe continues to move forward with the complicity of this congress is nothing short of insanity , dangerous and insane . 
employees who have raised concerns have been intimidated into silence , and the workers were purposely exposed to hazardous conditions by contractors eager to win hefty cash bonuses . 
science has been manipulated to fit predrawn conclusions , and public safety and the environment have been sacrificed upon the altar of political expediency and greed . 
yucca mountain is a disaster waiting to happen . 
when you build a weak foundation , your building collapses , and that is why yucca mountain is collapsing before our eyes . 
doe is building yucca on a weak foundation based on lies , fraud , intimidation , deception and nonexistent science . 
we should be pouring our resources into renewable energy , harnessing the sun , harnessing the moon , not sticking our valuable resources into a hole in the nevada desert . 
if my colleagues think that nuclear waste is so safe , let them keep it in their own states , let them keep it in their districts , by their children , by their children 's schools , by homes and hospitals , synagogues and churches ; and do not travel across this country in order to stick it in a hole in the middle of the nevada desert . 
i urge us to reconsider this . 
let us change our direction before we go into something that is so disastrous and dangerous that we will never forgive ourselves and never be able to be forgiven by future generations of americans . 
