Here Are The Three Senate Dems That Voted Against An Amendment To Boost US Uranium Independence

Three Senate Democrats voted Thursday against an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would promote increased American uranium independence.

Republican Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso authored the Nuclear Fuel Security Act, which would instruct the Department of Energy (DOE) to prioritize actions to boost domestic production of two types of uranium to fuel U.S. nuclear reactors. The Democrats who voted against the amendment were Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

The bill passed the Senate by a 96-3 vote, with Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois not casting a vote.

Though the bill does not expressly name Russia in its text, Barrasso made clear during Thursday remarks from the Senate floor that reducing Russian influence over the U.S. uranium supply is a key goal of the amendment.

“Russia has driven America’s nuclear fuel suppliers out of business,” Barrasso said, adding that the U.S. spends “nearly $1 billion each year on Russian uranium” and that “Russia uses these revenues to fund its invasion of Ukraine.”

“Here in America we have the resources to fuel our own reactors,” he continued.

Markey and Warren voted against the amendment despite previously voicing concerns about Russian influence in the U.S., and both senators have advanced the narrative that Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign had potentially colluded with agents of the Russian government.

In July 2017, Markey said that an alleged meeting between Trump campaign operatives and a Russian woman “proves that there was an attempt at collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign.”

The Mueller report ultimately did not prove that the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia. Investigators spent more than $32 million and nearly two years investigating the allegations, according to CNBC .

Warren tweeted that the Mueller report “lays out facts showing that a hostile foreign government attacked our 2016 election to help Donald Trump and Donald Trump welcomed that help,” adding that “once elected, Donald Trump obstructed the investigation into that attack.”

Warren also called for impeachment proceedings against Trump after the Mueller report’s release. 

Republican Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia cosponsored the amendment, according to its text.

The offices of Warren, Markey and Sanders all did not respond immediately to requests for comment.