Lawmakers ask Bush to reconsider FutureGen decision
MATTOON – Two Illinois congressmen held a telephone conference call with President Bush while he was aboard Air Force One on Wednesday afternoon to ask him to reconsider a decision by the Energy Department to pull its support from building FutureGen in Mattoon.
Energy Secretary Sam Bodman has announced plans to restructure FutureGen, abandoning the Mattoon project in favor of building several coal plants that have the same Futuregen technology of carbon capture and storage.
U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana, and U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, called Bush, who was flying on Air Force One on his way to Torrance, Calif., to give a speech on free trade.
"I asked that this not be a political decision based on Texas not being chosen," Johnson said.
The two congressmen followed the phone call with a strong letter, and Johnson hopes to have another meeting with the president to determine what will happen next, according to Johnson's spokesman.
The letter criticized Bodman's handling of FutureGen and the Department of Energy's sudden reversal on the issue and expressed concern about the effect of this week's turn of events on Coles County, the state of Illinois and all the communities that competed to host the project.
"Many have argued that this abrupt about-face by Secretary Bodman was the direct result of the FutureGen Alliance choosing Mattoon as the site over Texas applicants," the letter said. "While we'd like not to believe this theory, there is no other plausible explanation.
"Mr. President, we have lost confidence in Secretary Bodman," it said. "From moving the Rare Isotope Accelerator project to the back burner to short-changing our national laboratories to his troubling comments about ethanol and alternative fuels to this recent FutureGen debacle, he has proven to be no ally in our efforts to promote scientific research, address new technology for clean energy development and to boost our struggling economy.
"We feel that the Secretary misled us and the people of Illinois, creating false hope in a FutureGen project which he had no intention of funding or supporting. We are writing today to urge you to keep FutureGen on track, so that this project can begin construction and become a reality."
Bush told Johnson in the phone conversation that he would take the concerns Johnson presented under advisement, according to Phil Bloomer, Johnson's spokesman.
Meanwhile, Irma Duncan of DuQuoin spent Thursday calling newspapers across the state in an effort to launch a grass-roots effort to have Illinois residents direct letters, telephone calls and e-mails to the Department of Energy and the White House.
"I've been following FutureGen all along, and I really got excited when they announced Mattoon would get it," Duncan said. "I don't like the way the Bush Administration is stalling; it is imperative that FutureGen becomes a reality.
"I just thought that, if enough people hear our concerns, they are going to listen."
Comments to the White House may be sent by mail to The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500; by phone at 202-456-1111, or by e-mail to commentswhitehouse.gov. Comments to the Department of Energy may be sent by mail to U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20585; by phone at 800-342-5363; or by e-mail to The.Secretaryhq.doe.gov.
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