Sen. Joseph Lieberman called for a moratorium on construction of nuclear power plants in the US in the aftermath of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, which damaged two nuclear reactors.
“The reality is that we’re watching something unfold,” he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “We don’t know where it’s going with regard to the nuclear power plants in Japan right now. I think it calls on us here in the US–naturally not to stop building nuclear power plants, but to put the brakes on right now until we understand the ramifications of what’s happened in Japan.”
Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who heads the Senate’s Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, said he continues to support nuclear power as a way for the country to address its energy needs. But he added that development of new plants should be put on hold “until we can absorb what has happened in Japan as a result of the earthquake and the tsunami and then see what more, if anything, we can demand of the new power plants that are coming online.”