The House version of an economic stimulus bill would include $500 million in additional funding for cleanup of Hanford and other Cold War nuclear weapon sites, far less than the $6 billion being pushed in the Senate.

However, the House amount has yet to be considered by the House Appropriations Committee, which could move to change it.

"It ought to be an interesting conference committee," said Gary Petersen, vice president of Hanford programs for the Tri-City Development Council. After the House and Senate each approve their versions of an economic stimulus package, the two bills will be reconciled in a conference committee.

An additional $6 billion for cleanup work at Hanford and other nuclear sites would create 10,000 jobs and save overhead costs, a group of eight senators, including Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Thursday.

The senators wrote a letter to the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee, urging them to support the appropriation.

"The primary obstacles to accomplishing the cleanup of DOE's weapons sites is insufficient funding and reprogramming of allocated funds to other department programs," the letter said.

Hanford receives about $2 billion in federal money each year, and the appropriation for all cleanup work nationwide has ranged from a high of $7.3 billion in fiscal 2005 to a low of the $5.5 billion proposed in the Bush administration's fiscal 2009 budget.

The letter echoes the points in one proposal developed by DOE that considers speeding cleanup at large sites such as Hanford and completing cleanup at smaller sites across the nation. It said $6 million could put thousands of people to work in blue collar jobs within 90 to 180 days and create 10,000 jobs for four years.

It proposed that cleaned-up sites and areas of sites be considered for energy parks, which would use federal land, state-of-the-art facilities and technology, and experienced workers to produce energy and demonstrate advanced technologies.

"Energy parks would create long-term jobs and help reduce America's reliance on foreign sources of oil," said the letter to the committee leadership. Because cleanup contracts are already in place, it would also create "shovel ready" jobs immediately to stimulate the economy, it said.

Now DOE is spending huge sums on "landlord" or mortgage" costs, which include security and utilities, the letter said. But when sites have had funds to accelerate cleanup, DOE has been able to save significant taxpayer money, it said.

"For example, DOE estimates that by accelerating the cleanup of the Rocky Flats site it completed the work nearly 50 years and $30 billion below initial estimates," the letter said.

The letter was signed by Cantwell; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Mike Crapo, R-Idaho; Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Tom Udall, D-N.M.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., also wants at least $6 billion to be included in the economic stimulus bill for cleanup of Hanford and other sites.