I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2926
To provide for interagency planning for preparing for, defending against, 
and responding to the consequences of terrorist attacks against the 
Yucca Mountain Project, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 25, 2003
Ms. BERKLEY (for herself, Mr. GIBBONS, and Mr. PORTER) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infra-
structure, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined 
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide for interagency planning for preparing for, de-
fending against, and responding to the consequences of 
terrorist attacks against the Yucca Mountain Project, 
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nuclear Waste Ter-
rorist Threat Assessment and Protection Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) The September 11 terrorist attacks in New 
York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania 
were the deadliest and costliest terrorist attacks 
against the United States in its history, resulting in 
the deaths of over 3,000 people at the World Trade 
Center, Pentagon, and Pennsylvania crash site. 
(2) The economic and cleanup costs as a result 
of the September 11 terrorist attacks are estimated 
at $1,000,000,000 in New York City alone. 
(3) The attacks have resulted in massive eco-
nomic disruption to the United States. The New 
York Stock Exchange’s Dow Jones Industrial Aver-
age dropped over 12 percent and the NASDAQ mar-
ket dropped 11.7 percent within the first 2 weeks 
after the attacks. 
(4) The September 11 attacks represent a dra-
matic expansion in the ability of terrorists to inflict 
massive damage, including the wide-scale loss of 
human life and economic disruption to the United 
States and the world. 
(5) Terrorists are willing to use any and all 
methods to bring about their desire to destroy 
human life and property.
(6) The terrorists who attacked the United 
States have demonstrated their willingness and de-
sire to target innocent civilians. 
(7) Terrorists can be expected to continue to 
improve their destructive capabilities. Their net-
works have become more sophisticated and resource-
ful in carrying out heinous acts of destruction. 
(8) Since its inception in March 2002, the 
threat alert has consistently been at an ‘‘elevated’’ 
level, reaching a level of ‘‘high’’ 4 times. 
(9) To counter this threat, the United States 
should take every reasonable step, consistent with 
the principles upon which this country was founded, 
to restrict terrorists’ ability to inflict damage against 
the United States. 
(10) Instead of making the United States safer, 
the proposed Yucca Mountain Project, as currently 
designed, would give terrorists an obvious huge, 
easy-to-attack target that, at any point, could cause 
massive economic and civilian casualties within the 
United States. 
(11) The Yucca Mountain Project proposes to 
ship 77,000 tons of deadly high-level radioactive nu-
clear waste throughout the United States over the 
next 30 to 40 years. High-level radioactive nuclear