Nevada Congressional Delegation calls on Energy Department to recuse conflicted firm

April 3, 2008

Washington, D.C. – A scathing report released today by the Department of Energy's (DOE) own Inspector General shows that the Energy Department did not act in the public's best interest when it knowingly hired a law firm with clear conflicts of interest to represent the Yucca Mountain Project. The DOE awarded a $100 million no-bid contract to Morgan Lewis & Bockius to assist in drafting a license application for the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain despite the fact it also represents major utilities in lawsuits against the DOE.

After being briefed by the Inspector General, Nevada's entire congressional delegation called on the Energy Department to recuse the law firm, particularly after learning that one firm seeking to do business with the DOE was deemed to have no conflict at all.

In its report the Inspector General expressed concern that the DOE lowered its own internal standards to allow the Department to award the contract to Morgan Lewis & Bockius. The report cites a similar situation in 1999 when the DOE declined to award a contract to a law firm it deemed was conflicted because it didn't want to raise questions about the integrity of the process. However, in 2007 the Energy Department lowered the bar in order to hire the chosen law firm of the nuclear industry. The Inspector General also expressed concern that the DOE failed to document how it justified loosening its own standards.

"Once again, it's painfully clear that the Energy Department continues to set aside public interest and security in its rush to turn Nevada into the nation's nuclear dumping ground," said Nevada Senator Harry Reid. "It is unacceptable that the Department is willing to set aside any and all integrity in a rush to implement its dangerous plan of shipping 77,000 tons of nuclear waste across the country to Nevada. The Department could have saved countless taxpayer dollars that went into this investigation if it had only done the right thing."

"This report demonstrates the lengths that the Department of Energy is willing to go to push forward a failed policy at Yucca Mountain," said Ensign. "Lowering the bar to hire the chosen law firm of the nuclear industry sets a dangerous precedent. It is unfortunate that the people of Nevada remain far from the minds of Department of Energy officials, and this report confirms that."

"This report makes clear that DOE blatantly violated its own policies in order to award a $100 million sweetheart deal to a firm drowning in special interest conflicts from lucrative deals with the nuclear industry. When DOE learned that its own policies prevented the awarding of this no bid contract to Morgan Lewis, they just torched the rulebook. Either DOE should drop Morgan Lewis or the firm should take its own name out of the running based on these findings from the Energy Department's own internal investigators," said Rep. Berkley. "Once again, Nevadans are witnessing the extraordinary lengths that the Bush White House will go to in order to bury Nevada in toxic nuclear waste. What's another $100 million dollars when the Bush Yucca Mountain plan already tops $80 billion?"

"The Department of Energy's internal investigation has made it crystal clear that there was a choice of whether to award a $100 million contract to a firm who had a conflict of interest or a firm who did not," said Porter. "DOE set aside the public's best interest and chose Morgan Lewis whose loyalties lie with the nuclear industry and not with the American taxpayer. Impartiality and objectivity are cornerstones in maintaining public confidence. Those are commitments that DOE has held in contempt. It is beyond debate that immediate recusal of Morgan Lewis' services is critical."

"This report highlights the blatant disregard for the public good. The Energy Departments' misuse of taxpayer money to hire Morgan Lewis underscores the lengths DOE will go to push this flawed project. DOE has made one mistake after another over the course of the Yucca Mountain project," said Heller.