What You Should Know About Bernie Sanders And A Controversial Proposal To Bring Toxic Waste To Texas

[TomCADem]

Bernie likes to tout his brand as an environmentalist who looks out for the poor, but what about Bernie's sponsorship of a bill, the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Consent Act, with Joe Barton to dump toxic sludge in a poor latino community in Texas? This involved the infamous Sierra Blanca site where Nuclear Waste from Vermont was dumped in Texas near a Latino Community.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/what-you-should-know-about-bernie-sanders-controversial-vote-for-a-project-that-would-have-brought-toxic-waste-to-sierra-blanca/

Specifically, it’s the proposed Texas-Vermont-Maine nuclear waste dump, for which Sanders co-sponsored legislation, fought for in Congress, and voted for in the late nineties... And though it’s a matter of record that Sanders did do what he’s accused of in regards to the Sierra Blanca bill, it’s a more complex issue than “he voted to dump toxic waste on poor people.” (Sierra Blanca currently has a median household income of $22,768; Burlington, Vermont, which Sanders represented in Congress, averages almost three times that.)

Joe Nick Patoski wrote about the campaign against the project—which never came to fruition—for Texas Monthly in 1999, and he found an area sharply divided by the idea. (At one point, leading activist Bill Addington had his lumberyard burned to the ground, an event he attributed to arson from pro-project antagonists.)

* * *
All of this reflects a complicated situation. Sanders did fight for the ability to dump the toxic waste generated by people from Vermont in a poor, largely Hispanic community on the border—and some of the people in that community fought to get that toxic waste dumped in their area, because the world is so complicated that sometimes poor people lobby to take on other people’s toxic garbage if they’ll get paid for it.

What all of that adds up to is ultimately subject to interpretation, but the simplistic frames being proposed through the lenses of each candidate—that he either wanted to dump toxic sludge on poor people or that he’s still a champion of the downtrodden because the project never came to fruition—doesn’t serve much purpose. That, though, is just how primary campaigns tend to work.

[Autumn]

1. U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee cosponsored that bill along with Sanders. nt

[TexasTowelie]

3. Whataboutism.

[Autumn]

4. Nonsense, it's a fact that is being omitted, I know facts are difficult things but they exist. nt

[squirecam]

5. No state should dump its nuclear waste

On the citizens of another state.

[Karadeniz]

28. That is the way it should be.

[still_one]

9. The bottom line is he voted to dump nuclear waste in a poor Tesxas Hispanic community

It doesnt matter who else voted for it, it doesn't make it right

[TomCADem]

22. Bernie Did Not Merely Vote For The Bill. He Was a Co-Sponsor...

...who fought for the bill to dump Vermont's nuclear waste on a poor Hispanic community in Texas and told representatives of that community that he was focused on running for election in the state of Vermont. Well, this is a chance for Texans to have a direct say on whether Bernie's campaign goes anywhere.

[still_one]

33. An important note

[Autumn]

37. There were 23 other cosponsors and Biden voted for it.

[TomCADem]

39. Not True. Unlike Bernie, Biden Was Not a Sponsor

Biden did vote for Bernie's Nuclear Waste Bill, which was clearly a mistake.

[Autumn]

41. Barton wrote it Biden voted for it. It's not Bernie's bill anymore than it's Sheila Jackson Lees

I'm surprised I thought everyone knew enough about how bills are done to know that if a politician writes a bill they are the author of the bill. Funny how that works. Barton wrote this one, and it had 23 cosponsors.

[TomCADem]

42. Well, The People of West Texas Thought Otherwise When They Questioned Bernie

Bernie was one of the leading proponents of the bill to dump toxic sludge on poor Texas Latinos. The people in West Texas understood Bernie's role. Bernie ignored them:

https://carchives.texasobserver.org/issue/1998/09/11#page=11

Before the rally Sanders invited the three West Texans to meet with him privately, and the Texans ea- gerly agreed. The meeting was no longer than Sanders' attention span — when it comes to Sierra Blanca. "He didn't listen," Curry said. "He had his mind made up." Afterward, Bernie was giving his pro forma campaign speech, never mentioning nuclear power or nuclear waste. Sierra Blanca activist Bill Addington, who'd arrived just that morning to join the march, along with his neighbor Marfa Mendez, had had enough, and he yelled from the crowd, "What about my home, Bernie? What about Sierra Blanca?"

Several others joined in. "What about Sierra Blanca, Bernie?"

Sanders left the stage, which surprised no one in the small Texas delegation. Earlier, he had told them, "My position is unchanged, and you're not gonna like it." When they asked if he would visit the site in Sierra Blanca, he said, "Absolutely not. I'm gonna be running for re-election in the state of Vermont."

[Autumn]

43. After insisting all through your thread that it was Bernie's bill you admit it's not his but the

but the people in Texas thought it was? Good for you Tom, admitting you were pushing something that isn't true takes a big person. Now I'm just going to trash your thread

[TomCADem]

44. You Were Correct The First Time. It Is Bernie's Bill. He Co-Sponsored The Bill

And fought for it and the people of West Texas knew that.

[TomCADem]

6. So Did Republican Joe Barton Who Famously Apologized to BP Oil

You have to wonder when you have Bernie Sanders and Joe Barton on the same side when it comes to dumping toxic waste:

[Autumn]

8. Biden was a yes vote so that has Joe Barton, Joe Biden, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Sanders

on the same side when it comes to dumping toxic waste.

[TomCADem]

10. Who Sponsored and Fought for the Bill?

I agree with you. Joe Biden should not have voted in support of Bernie's bill. In contrast, Bernie did not merely vote for the bill. Bernie was one of the leading proponents of the bill to dump toxic sludge on poor Texas Latinos. People in West Texas understood Bernie's role. Bernie ignored them:

https://carchives.texasobserver.org/issue/1998/09/11#page=11

Before the rally Sanders invited the three West Texans to meet with him privately, and the Texans ea- gerly agreed. The meeting was no longer than Sanders' attention span — when it comes to Sierra Blanca. "He didn't listen," Curry said. "He had his mind made up." Afterward, Bernie was giving his pro forma campaign speech, never mentioning nuclear power or nuclear waste. Sierra Blanca activist Bill Addington, who'd arrived just that morning to join the march, along with his neighbor Marfa Mendez, had had enough, and he yelled from the crowd, "What about my home, Bernie? What about Sierra Blanca?"

Several others joined in. "What about Sierra Blanca, Bernie?"

Sanders left the stage, which surprised no one in the small Texas delegation. Earlier, he had told them, "My position is unchanged, and you're not gonna like it." When they asked if he would visit the site in Sierra Blanca, he said, "Absolutely not. I'm gonna be running for re-election in the state of Vermont."

[dware]

11. And?

Is the article false?
Or is this just another attempt at distraction?

[Autumn]

19. You find facts to be a distraction? Here's another fact. Joe Biden voted for it

along with Feinstein, Daschle, and Leahy. There's a distraction for you.

[dware]

21. Who co-sponsered the bill?

Here's a hint, it wasn't Biden, Feinstein, Daschle or Leahy.

[Autumn]

24. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee cosponsored that bill along with Sanders. In fact here's the whole list of

the 23 co sponsors for you. Biden, Feinstein, Daschle or Leahy just voted for the bill. I was clear about that in my post.

23 cosponsors (11R, 11D, 1I) (show)
Allen, Thomas “Tom” [D-ME1] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Archer, Bill [R-TX7] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Baldacci, John [D-ME2] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Bentsen, Ken [D-TX25] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Burr, Richard [R-NC5] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Combest, Larry [R-TX19] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
DeLay, Thomas “Tom” [R-TX22] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Edwards, Thomas “Chet” [D-TX11] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Granger, Kay [R-TX12] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Green, Gene [D-TX29] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Hall, Ralph [D-TX4] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Jackson Lee, Sheila [D-TX18] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Johnson, Eddie [D-TX30] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Johnson, Sam [R-TX3] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Norwood, Charles “Charlie” [R-GA10] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Sanders, Bernard “Bernie” [I-VT0] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Sessions, Pete [R-TX5] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Smith, Lamar [R-TX21] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Stenholm, Charles “Charlie” [D-TX17] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Thornberry, Mac [R-TX13] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Turner, James “Jim” [D-TX2] (joined Feb 6, 1997)
Tauzin, William “Billy” [R-LA3] (joined Mar 13, 1997)
Sandlin, Max [D-TX1] (joined Apr 16, 19

[RandySF]

35. I don't care.

[Autumn]

36. You don't have to care, but some of us do care about facts and truth.

[Cha]

2. KICK!

[DanTex]

7. "What you should know" is that Joe Biden voted for the same bill.

Seriously, these attempts to dig up dirt where there's nothing are getting more and more absurd.

[squirecam]

12. Two wrongs don't make a right.

Voting to dump nuclear waste on any state is wrong.

[DanTex]

13. Are you saying it should be dumped in the ocean?

I mean, it's going to end up somewhere.

[squirecam]

14. Then it should be stored

In the state that made the waste in the first place.

[DanTex]

15. The geography makes certain place unsuitable for safe nuclear waste storage.

That's the whole reason why this was done. Both Vermont and Texas agreed this was a better alternative, and the majority of congress including Joe Biden agreed. The only reason anyone is talking about this at all is to try to manufacture something to attack Bernie with. It's silly.

[squirecam]

16. And what if the representatives of a state

Are wholly against the idea. Is it ok to force them to take it against their will?

[DanTex]

18. The representatives of the state were not against the idea.

The state legislatures are the ones that came up with the whole idea in the first place. All the bill that Bernie (and Biden, and the majority of Dems in congress) supported did was approve the interstate compact, which is required by the constitution. It didn't force anyone to do anything. Bernie didn't create the agreement, nor did he pick the location.

[squirecam]

20. That was not my question.

What if the state is against the idea?

[DanTex]

23. What does it mean for a state to be against an idea?

[squirecam]

25. This is a real simple question.

The state citizens and congressional representatives are against the idea of bringing waste to their state. Do you think it is ok to force them to take it?

Please answer this simple question with a simple yes or no.

[DanTex]

27. The state representatives were not against the idea! They were for it.

That's the whole reason that they needed the interstate compact to be approved by the federal government in the first place. Because the state representatives of Vermont and Texas were in favor of it.

[squirecam]

29. It's a simple hypothetical.

What if they were against it?

[DanTex]

30. Yes, I would be opposed to an interstate compact that was not agreed upon by the

states involved in the compact. That's part of the larger principle that laws that are not passed by legislatures should not go into effect.

[squirecam]

31. Thank you

Nt

[TomCADem]

17. I Agree With You. Biden Should Not Have Voted for Bernie's Bill

nt

[Autumn]

26. It was Texas's Rep Joe Barton's bill and you know it. Bernie was just one of 23 cosponsors.

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/105/hr629

You might have better luck trying to convince people that Bernie kidnapped the Lindbergh baby.

[TomCADem]

40. H.R. 629 (105th): Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Consent Act

I understand you want to minimize Bernie's role. However, one of the main purposes of the bill was to allow Vermont to dump toxic waste in a small latino town in Texas. That is why Bernie was a co-sponsor of the bill. That is why activists representing the town took issue with Bernie. Bernie was not bystander. He expressly advocated for the passage of the bill.

Unlike the Lindbergh baby, Bernie's role in pushing for this bill is a matter of fact.

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/105/hr629/summary

7/16/1998--Conference report filed in House. Interstate Compact - Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Consent Act - Grants the consent of the Congress to the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact entered into by the States of Maine, Texas, and Vermont. Declares that such consent is granted: (1) subject to the provisions of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act; and (2) only for so long as the regional commission established in the Compact complies with all provisions of such Act. Authorizes the Congress to modify or repeal this Act with respect to the Compact after expiration of the ten-year period following the date of enactment of this Act, and at intervals thereafter as provided in the Compact.

[zackymilly]

32. If people can excuse Bloomberg for what he has done, I can excuse Bernie and everyone else. n/t

[RandySF]

34. Kicked

[highplainsdem]

38. K&R

[TexasBushwhacker]

45. They chose Sierra Blanca because they were already taking

tons of treated sewage/sludge from NYC since 1992. It has a major railroad nearby as well as I 10. They quit accepting the NYC sewage in 2001 because of the odor.

The thing is, while Vermont and Maine are more densely populated than West Texas, surely they have sparsely populated areas of their own to bury their radioactive waste.

[squirecam]

46. Agreed

Nt