Ohio Senators Push for $150 Million for Uranium Plant R&D

The federal transportation bill now earlier than Congress includes $150 million earmarked for a proposed uranium enrichment plant in Ohio that backers say will generate 400 permanent jobs and bring temporary work to another 4,000.

The money was inserted keen on the bill by Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican Sen. Rob Portman, intelligence the Dayton Daily News. The Ohio senators have as well backed federal loan guarantees for Maryland-based uranium-product firm USEC to make its American Centrifuge Project in Piketon, Ohio.

If the bill passes, the federal dollars would be spent for examine and development at the plant. Brown said the project is not only important for jobs, but “it’s also a dangerous component of our national security. That’s why we see bipartisan support in the Senate for continual research and development.’’USEC has, over the long-ago three years, sought $2 billion in federal loan guarantees to commercialize the project. However, the Department of Energy has refused the money for the plant, where USEC strategy to enrich uranium for nuclear energy.