16th District congressional candidates go nuclear on energy

Both leading candidates for the 16th District of Congress favor nuclear energy as a key option for reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

But like the presidential candidates for the Nov. 4 election, they differ on how and to what extent to go nuclear.

Barrington Hills Mayor Bob Abboud, a Democrat and nuclear engineer who owns an energy consulting company, RGA Labs Inc., proposes creating a public-private American Power Authority to build 100 new nuclear plants through public-private partnerships.

The authority would be administered by the federal government, but funded privately, like the agencies used to build dams elsewhere.

Support for nuclear power reverses traditional Democratic policy, but Abboud says a new generation of Democrats like himself, Rep. Bill Foster and presidential candidate Barack Obama are open to responsible nuclear power - though Republican John McCain is the one pushing 45 new nuclear plants.

Abboud maintained nuclear plants are almost impervious to the type of airplane strike used on buildings on 9/11.

"It's not an energy problem," Abboud said of nuclear power. "It's an education problem."

He also advocates using tax dollars to help develop hybrid cars to run using the electricity generated by those nuclear plants, and he would make significant investments in solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric power.

Manzullo, an attorney and 15-year Republican incumbent from the Rockford area, also supports nuclear power, but did not include it on his 12-point plan to reduce gas prices.

In that plan, he emphasizes conservation and cutting gas taxes, a halt to filling the national poll reserve, and more drilling domestically, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

He also would eliminate the federal requirement for cleaner-burning fuel in the summer, which drives up gas prices. Manzullo says ethanol and flex fuels are cleaner, but Abboud says they're not nearly sufficient to clean the air.

Manzullo also would encourage construction of new refineries by reducing environment requirements and providing tax exempt bonds.

While Manzullo also supports alternative energy, Abboud criticized him for voting against it in the past, most recently last month. Manzullo said the Comprehensive Energy Security Act, which allowed offshore drilling over 50 miles from the U.S. coast, did not go nearly far enough.

Green Party candidate Scott Summers, a McHenry County Community College trustee, opposes nuclear power plants as terrorist targets. He also says there is no good way to dispose of nuclear waste, and he contends nuclear power would never make it in the free market without subsidies and limits on industry liability.