While we may not agree on the federal government’s role in solving our nation’s energy crisis, we both agree that the latest attempt by the nuclear industry to secure expensive subsidies on the backs of the taxpayers is a bridge too far.

When Congress passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005, it authorized the Department of Energy to provide taxpayer-funded loan guarantees to a variety of innovative energy projects that would increase our domestic energy supply and reduce air pollution. The projects ranged from solar and wind to nuclear power, coal and oil refineries. While no industry was excluded from participating in this program, the nuclear industry and its allies in Congress are trying to manipulate the rules of the program so they can receive budget-busting subsidies for questionable new ventures and stick the taxpayers with the bill.

The federal government has long-established safeguards and restrictions that govern large loan programs. Essentially, they limit the percentages of debt that would have to be covered by the Treasury if a company or industry defaults on a loan. These safeguards are meant to protect taxpayers from bad deals that are likely to fail. And if you listen to Wall Street, jumbo-size loans to the nuclear industry fit that bill.

A group of investment banks recently weighed in about the significant likelihood of delays and cost overruns in building nuclear power plants, telling the DOE, “We believe these risks, combined with the higher capital costs and longer construction schedules of nuclear plants as compared to other generation facilities, will make lenders unwilling at present to extend long-term credit.”

So what was the nuclear industry’s response? It pressured lawmakers in the House and Senate to increase the government’s share of liability for new loans. It even took the unusual step of having a Republican senator stall the nomination of the Bush administration’s choice to head the powerful Office of Management and Budget until it was assured that OMB would not object to the increased taxpayer risk the industry was proposing for the loan program.

Still that wasn’t enough. One more obstacle stood in their way. Under a law called the Federal Credit Reform Act, Congress is required to set annual budget limits for loan programs to avoid cost overruns. The industry successfully exempted their subsidies from this requirement in the current energy bill pending in Congress.

The nuclear industry sought this special treatment because, according to Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., the chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that set limits for energy programs, the industry’s trade association was pushing for more than $50 billion in federal loan guarantees in the next two years.

Visclosky remarked, “It overwhelms what the (Energy and Water Appropriations) bill provides for the entire energy community.” It also exceeded the $4 billion the administration had sought for both nuclear and coal projects.

As House and Senate leaders seek compromise on energy legislation, they should reject super-size subsidies to the nuclear industry. And if Congress does provide support for the fledgling nuclear industry, it should do so under the same budgetary constraints and fiscal safeguards that govern other loan guarantee programs. The taxpayers should not be held liable for projects that the private sector and government watchdogs have deemed to be a risky investment.