Alice James (202) 224-5972 or Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement in response to a new ad from Friends of the Earth which calls for cutting off funding to the MOX fuel fabrication facility at Savannah River Site.

Graham said:

"Friends of the Earth is no friend to South Carolina.

"The Department of Energy (DOE) made a commitment to South Carolina on plutonium disposition and they have a responsibility to live up to their end of the deal. Unfortunately, President Obama seems intent on reneging on this valuable program which takes tons of weapons-grade plutonium, enough to make 17,000 nuclear warheads, off the market.

"President Obama and DOE must be held accountable and forced to carry through on the commitments which have been made. Never before has the local community had their faith in DOE and SRS tested as they do now. Delays in the MOX program have caused the community to once again fear that the plutonium currently at SRS will remain there indefinitely.

"South Carolina has always been a willing partner in carrying out the missions critical to our national security at SRS. In fact, the community surrounding the site is widely regarded as the most supportive community of any DOE site in the country. We want to be able to continue this partnership, but recent actions from President Obama and DOE are hurting the partnership."

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ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:
Click here: ‘Obama Administration ‘Jeopardizing' Partnership between Savannah River Site and South Carolina, Georgia over Plutonium Disposition