Sen. Inhofe hopes to sway Perry camp on Yucca nuke site

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) hopes that GOP White House hopeful Rick Perry — whom Inhofe has endorsed — will come around to his way of thinking on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site.

Perry agreed with two rivals at Tuesday night’s GOP debate in Las Vegas that Nevada should be able to decide whether to host a waste repository.

Inhofe, however, is a strong supporter of the Yucca Mountain project, and has attacked the Obama administration decision to abandon the long-delayed plan. Inhofe told reporters outside the Capitol Wednesday that he hopes to speak with the Perry camp on the matter.

“I am looking forward to that conversation,” Inhofe said. He also said he did not believe the question about Yucca was asked fairly in the debate.

“I think you will see a more modified answer next time,” Inhofe said.

The Yucca project is unpopular in Nevada, and at the debate Perry agreed with candidates Ron Paul and Mitt Romney, who both cast it as a states’ rights issue.

Paul said, “What right do 49 states have to punish one state and say, 'We're going to put our garbage in your state?' I think that's wrong.”

Romney, for his part, said states should be able to compete with each other to host a geologic waste repository.

The Hill have more on the exchange here; a CNN transcript is here.