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Republicans say plutonium bill is ready BY JEFFREY COLLINS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS COLUMBIA, S.C. - U S. Rep Lindsey Graham says all he needs is Gov. Jim Hodges ap proval and he can get a deal through Congress nearly guar anteeing plutonium shipped from Colorado won’t stay in the state indefinitely. ( A spokesman for the Democratic governor says he ap preciates the bipartisan effort led by the Republican representative. But Jay Reiff says some details still must be worked out with the U.S. Energy Department before Hodges supports Graham’s bill. The legislation would fine the federal government $1 million a day starting in 2011 if at least 1 ton of the weapons-grade pluto nium has not been made into fuel for nuclear reactors at the Savannah River Site. The gov ernment would have to move the plutonium or speed up the con version to stop the fines. The penalties would be capped at $100 million a year. The fines would start again in Jan. 1,2017 if all the plutonium is not converted. The penalties would continue at the same rate and with the same cap until all the nuclear material is out of the state. Graham, who was flanked by fellow Republicans Lt. Gov. Bob Peeler and South Carolina House Speaker David Wilkins, sahi Saturday that he felt that fellow state delegation member and Democrat U.S. Rep John Spratt would support such a bill. The Energy Department also likes the bill, spokesman Joe Davis said. “We hope they can get the governor to sign on to it,“ he said. All the bipartisanship is fine, Reiff said, but the governor still isn’t completely ready to sign off on the proposal. Hodges, who has vowed to lay down in the streets to stop pluto nium from entering South Carolina, wants nothing shipped from Rocky Flats facility in Colorado until the agreement passes Congress and is signed by the president. Graham said with the sup port of Sen. Strom Thurmond, R S.C., that could happen by the end of May, but Reiff said he expects it to be closer to the middle of the summer. The Energy Department says it can start shipping the plutonium on May 15, although Graham said he expects the agency will delay shipments by at least a week if his deal moves forward. Hodges also disagrees with when the fines should start, and he wants better assurances the deal can pass through the Senate, Reiff said. “This is not a done deal, but we’ve made progress," Reiff said. Graham said he had been meeting with the governor and other Republican and Democratic leaders throughout the weekend trying to hammer out the agree ment. Graham, who is running for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the retiring Thurmond, said Hodges was right in his stance in wanting a binding agreement to guarantee the plutonium would leave the state in some form. Peeler, who is running for the GOP gubernatorial nomina tion to face Hodges in November, and Wilkins agreed and urged the governor to take the last step and sign on to the compromise. “Political grandstanding doesn’t get anything done, but po litical leadership does," Wilkins said. Hodges had state troopers and transport police practice blocking a tractor trailer trying to enter SRS on Monday. Firing CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Neither McGreevy nor Fink would comment. Winslow’s girlfriend, third year French student Jamie Martin, was the other student who ordered a drink. She isn’t a Housing Department employee. “None of the other partici pants expressed any reason why (Tom) should not get his drink,” Martin said in a written state ment. “No prior concerns were expressed concerning any con sumption of alcohol, and the problem was not clearly ad dressed at the time of the inci dent. “Tom was not driving any where, and in no way abused or disregarded any instruction or authority.” First-year accounting student Jason Drach lives on Winslow’s hall and described him as a great RA. “Without Tom, I don’t think I would have made it this year,” f Drach said. “He’s always there for everyone. He can really con nect with his residents.” Drach said Winslow con stantly encourages his residents to get involved on campus. Winslow said he thinks a more appropriate punishment would have been to write a let ter of apology to his residents and those involved. “I’ve never been in trouble with Housing before,” Winslow said. “This just seems like a big step.” Winslow, who will graduate in May, plans to attend law school this fall. He said he had planned to continue as an RA if he were to attend USC. First-year student George Raad is also one of Winslow’s residents. , “If this is a mistake, it’s the first one I’ve seen Tom make as an RA,” Raad said. “I think he deserves a second chance.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Sun9'ass iV#k Ray-Ban Costa Anarchy Oakley Maui Jim & More •large Inventory of Oakley Available but not cBscounted. Sale ends 5/31/OS it 's YOUR to. ’ nrm i”?".BUDGET HOTELS . for as little as Brussels......$583 JL Rio de Janiero..$738 +2*1 B San Jose C.R...$542 l Fares are rountkrip from Columbia. Restrictions may v apply. Tax not included. 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