Eight US senators have called on key appropriators to cut funding for DOE's
Global Nuclear Energy Partnership program in fiscal 2008.

In a November 20 letter to Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Democratic chairman
of the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, and to
the panel's ranking Republican Pete Domenici of New Mexico, the lawmakers said
they had "significant concerns" about GNEP, a DOE effort to develop new kinds
of reprocessing plants and fast reactors.

The letter, initiated by Wisconsin Democrat Russell Feingold, was signed by
five other Democrats, one Republican and one Independent. Senate appropriators
earlier this year approved $243 million in GNEP funds for FY-08 while the
House-passed funding bill would provide the program with $120 million. The
Senate has not yet scheduled a vote on its version of the bill.

In their letter, the eight lawmakers questioned "DOE's plans to initiate
commercial reprocessing in the United States." The letter added that such
action would set in motion a massive multi-decade government-subsidized
nuclear reprocessing program.