GOP Lawmaker Wants 200 New Reactors Built in U.S. by 2040

GOP Lawmaker Wants 200 New Reactors Built in U.S. by 2040 --Nuclear power lobbyists try to limit damage from Japan crisis on Capitol Hill 16 Mar 2011 Nuclear power advocates are waging an intense lobbying campaign on Capitol Hill this week in an attempt to limit the political fallout from the reactor nuclear crisis in Japan... Lobbyists with the Nuclear Energy Institute and some of the United States's largest energy firms, including [Obama paymaster] Exelon of Chicago, are holding meetings with key lawmakers and briefings for staff members in an attempt to tamp down talk of restrictions in response to the Japanese [nuclear] disaster. Most Republicans, meanwhile, remain enthusiastic boosters for nuclear power even as they push for spending cuts at the Office of Nuclear Energy and elsewhere. The House budget bill passed earlier this year included more than $330 million in cuts for nuclear waste disposal, safety oversight and other programs, according to advocacy groups. One bill, proposed by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and co-sponsored by more than 50 others, calls for 200 new nuclear power plants by 2040.