{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://newhouse.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/newhouse-leads-washington-delegation-request-hanford-cleanup-funding", "Newhouse Leads Washington Delegation in Request for Hanford Cleanup Funding", "2022-10-27", "2022", "2022-10", "Republican", "House", "WA", "Dan Newhouse", "N000189", "newhouse.house.gov", "newhouse", "https://newhouse.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013\u2013 Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) led the entire Washington delegation in a request to President Biden urging his administration to support an increased budget for the Department of Energy (DOE)\u2019s Office of Environmental Management (EM) to ensure the federal government can continue to meet its legal and moral obligation to cleanup operations at Hanford.\n\n\u201cAs Members of the Washington State Congressional Delegation, we write to you regarding the importance of adequately funding the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) in the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) budget and beyond,\u201d wrote the lawmakers. \u201cThis is a top priority for our constituents, the state of Washington, the communities surrounding DOE\u2019s Hanford Site, and regional Tribes.\u201d\n\nThe lawmakers continued, \u201cAs you know, this year marks the beginning of a very important milestone in cleanup at the site \u2013 the successful launch of the Tank Side Cesium Removal system. This is the first step in turning low-level waste into glass, and we commend the efforts at the site and the entire Tri-Cities community in supporting this major milestone.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs design, engineering, and construction of the High-Level Waste Facility is added to the mission scope, it is imperative that your FY24 budget request reflects not only the necessary resources for this critical phase of Hanford cleanup operations, but also the need for continued adequate funding in the Richland Operations and Office of River Protection EM accounts for subsequent fiscal years,\u201d the lawmakers concluded. \u201cWe urge the Administration to support an increased budget for the entire EM program to reflect the needs that continue to exist not only at Hanford, but at other sites across the country.\u201d\n\nYou can read the full letter here and below.\n\nDear President Biden,\n\nAs Members of the Washington State Congressional Delegation, we write to you regarding the importance of adequately funding the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) in the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) budget and beyond. This is a top priority for our constituents, the state of Washington, the communities surrounding DOE\u2019s Hanford Site, and regional Tribes.\n\nAs you know, this year marks the beginning of a very important milestone in cleanup at the site \u2013 the successful launch of the Tank Side Cesium Removal system. This is the first step in turning low-level waste into glass, and we commend the efforts at the site and the entire Tri-Cities community in supporting this major milestone.\n\nWhile significant cleanup progress has been made over the years, it is of the utmost importance that the federal government fund cleanup efforts at adequate levels for both Richland Operations and the Office of River Protection and with changing needs in mind. We are proud to work in concert and ensure that Hanford has the resources it needs to address current projects and plan for emerging needs in the future.\n\nWe are also encouraged by the recent announcement between Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) and DOE on an agreement to respond to tank waste issues. This may be a beginning of a new collaborative era between Ecology and DOE, one that we hope will result in considering all viable options for safely, efficiently, and effectively treating Hanford\u2019s tank waste.\n\nAs design, engineering, and construction of the High-Level Waste Facility is added to the mission scope, it is imperative that your FY24 budget request reflects not only the necessary resources for this critical phase of Hanford cleanup operations, but also the need for continued adequate funding in the Richland Operations and Office of River Protection EM accounts for subsequent fiscal years. We urge the Administration to support an increased budget for the entire EM program to reflect the needs that continue to exist not only at Hanford, but at other sites across the country.\n\nThank you for your consideration of this request.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:20:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://newhouse.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/newhouse-leads-washington-delegation-request-hanford-cleanup-funding"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.082149963825941, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}