WOW! Bernie’s Sierra Blanca Bill: ‘Blatant Environmental Injustice

[misterhighwasted]

NV State Director Who Unexpectedly Quit Assailed Bernie’s Sierra Blanca Bill as ‘Blatant Environmental Injustice’

Counterpunch:
"Bernie Sanders made a cold political calculation in 1998 that affected the lives of hundreds of poor, powerless people half a country away. He did it because it would benefit his affluent, politically engaged constituency, and, in turn, benefit him."

DailyKOS:

In 1998, then Representative Bernie Sanders cosponsored and actively ushered a bill through Congress that would allow Vermont and Maine to dump their nuclear waste in the poor disadvantaged Hispanic community of Sierra Blanca, Texas. Three West Texan protestors went to Vermont to plead with then Representative Sanders that the dump site shouldn’t be located in this poor minority community, Mr. Sanders told the three activists,“My position is unchanged and you’re not going to like it.”

Daily KOS
"If history tells us anything about minority communities they seemingly always get the short end of the stick. Flint, MI is one such community that comes to mind. In this case, the community of Sierra Blanca didn’t have any real political clout and they were reaching out to Mr. Sanders for help. Mr. Sanders could have stood behind this very poor Hispanic community, but as his response to the protesters revealed, he chose the political expedient route."
MORE..

Great Read its time for all to fess up. That Latino Community turned to Sanders & he turned his back.

http://bluenationreview.com/environmental-injustice-of-sanders-sierra-blanca-bill/

Didn't Bernie say "All lives Matter"? Shortly after he turned his back to BLM Seattle?
He had here, previously, also turned his back to Latinos, & "washed his hands of it".

Deception

[SunSeeker]

1. K & R for exposure. nt

[Agnosticsherbet]

2. Choosing to be Congressman NIMBY and place his state's nuclear waste on poor Hispanics everywhere

displays a singular lack of compassion for the poor, ethnic citizens of other states.

I've seen this before, and it is not any better this time around.

[misterhighwasted]

6. His votes to Dump nuke waste & Arm the militia men to patrol the US Mexico Border

Latinos in Texas are "Ready for Burnie", and this time around "He's not going to like it" !

Shame on Burnie Sanders

[Iliyah]

7. That is fact jack!

[Tommy2Tone]

3. I keep saying "he's a fake."

The world is finding it out drip by drip.

[Cha]

4. Thank you for this timely OP, mister!

[fleabiscuit]

5. NIMBY kick

[monicaangela]

8. There is more to this story....

Let's see what the other side says and what Bernie actually said his approval for moving the waste to this site was:

About Bernie Sanders' support for Sierra Blanca as a nuclear waste site



A lot of Hillary's supporters are trying to hit Bernie Sanders with a non-issue. But people don't know the truth and they're falling for this. So let me quote Bernie Sanders, since this is a site for REAL history, about why he supported this. These are his unedited remarks in support of this, from http://www.c-span.org/congress/bills/billAction/?print/1410681:

Also too...this is what the representatives of Sierra Blanca had to say about this matter:

Sierra Blanca, TX, July 23, 1996.

Dear Member of Congress: We are writing to encourage you to vote in favor of the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact, H.R. 558 without amendment.

As officials from the community nearest to the proposed facility, our primary duty is to protect the health and safety of our citizens and of future generations. In fulfillment of this duty, we have invested substantial time and effort in examining technical reports and talking with state officials and others involved in identifying and investigating a location for a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in our county.

We are convinced that the facility planned for the site is safe. This judgment is borne out by the `Environmental Safety Analysis' made by the state agency in charge of licensing the disposal facility in our state. That agency found that the site will not `pose an unacceptable risk to the public health' or cause `a long-term detrimental impact on the environment.'

Far from causing problems for our community, the disposal facility will bring to our area needed economic and social benefits. Hudspeth County has already received grants of over $2 million for the State of Texas for use in community projects of our own choosing. When Congress consents to the Texas Compact, the county will receive an additional $5 million in development funds from the states of Vermont and Maine. And, when the facility begins operation, the county will receive $.8 million annually from its gross revenue--equal to more than one-third of the county's total annual budget. These funds are very much needed in our effort to raise the standard of living, education, and medical care system for residents of our county.

Fundamentally, where and how to site a commercial low-level radioactive waste disposal facility is a state and local issue. In July of this year, the State of Texas will convene a series of public hearings, several in our community, which will allow any member of the public to comment and raise questions about any aspect of the proposed facility and its location. This is where the decision on the location and safety of the disposal facility should be made--not in the halls of Congress thousands of miles away from our community.

We have heard that some members of Congress, at the urging of certain advocacy groups who do not represent our community, object to the location of the disposal facility based on the ethnic composition and the economic status of our county. We are the direct representatives of this ethnically diverse and economically underdeveloped community, and we are convinced that the facility will be safely built. In addition, in December 1995, approximately half of the adult population of Sierra Blanca signed a petition supporting Congressional consent for the Texas Compact.

By consenting to the Texas Compact, Congress will: eliminate the need for two low-level radioactive waste disposal sites in more populous, more humid northeast states; alleviate the need to store low-level radioactive waste of hundreds of generating locations in the three member states; approve a facility that the most directly affected citizens find both safe and beneficial; and ensure that the State of Texas and its partners in the Texas Compact will be able to control the amount of waste coming into a facility located in our community.

Please vote for S. 419 without amendment.

Please contact us if you have any questions or would like more information.

Sincerely,

James A. Peace,

County Judge.

[BlueCaliDem]

9. Like I've said months ago, if Bernie gets vetted properly and get the exposure his supporters say

he isn't getting, they're not going to like what comes rolling out.

As an aside, a true, dyed-in-the-wool Liberal, the late but always great, Senator Paul Wellstone, was the loudest opponent of the Texas-Vermont-Maine Compact.

At the time, Senator Wellstone decried the dump as "part of a 'national pattern of discrimination in the location of waste and pollution' that preyed on those lacking political clout and financial resources."

[kjones]

10. Guess the burn in #FeelTheBern! is radiation exposure. nt