Log In
Oct. 29, page 28: In the story on flame retardants, C&EN stated that the Polyurethane Foam Association (PFA) provided grant money to Arlene Blum; PFA maintains that it only gave Blum a one-time speaker fee, not grant money.
Issue Date: November 5, 2012
Facts About Government Policy
In the article “Notes on Nuclear Energy Regulation,” the author mentions “President Barack Obama’s decision to veto the Yucca Mountain radioactive waste repository” (C&EN, Aug. 20, page 10). In the interest of accuracy, it should be noted that a sitting President has the power to veto legislation that has been passed by Congress, preventing it from becoming the law of the land. That did not happen with the nuclear waste act establishing Yucca Mountain as a geologic repository; President George W. Bush signed it into law.
Obama was a senator at the time and lacked the power to veto the bill. As President now, he has the legal obligation as chief executive to enforce the law but has chosen instead to ignore it. A sitting President doesn’t have the power to veto laws that have been duly enacted prior to his tenure in office.
If C&EN is going to include articles on government policies, they should be reviewed to ensure that the workings of government are accurately portrayed.
Timothy P. Vincent
Aiken, S.C.
- Chemical & Engineering News
- ISSN 0009-2347
- Copyright © American Chemical Society