Monday's emergency at Indian Point in Buchanan renewed calls by local politicians for something to be done about the troubles at the facility.

Indian Point officials were forced to close down Indian Point 3 after it experienced an unexpected drop in cooling water, more than four feet below sea level. Even though the "unusual event" is the lowest class of emergency, some lawmakers reiterated the need for an independent safety assessment of Indian Point. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) says the latest incident is just another in a big list of problems confronting the plant. And Representative John Hall (D-Goshen) said in a statement, "If a bunch of debris from the river is all it takes to cause an emergency at Indian Point, imagine what could happen during equipment malfunctions or God forbid a terrorist attack."

The Democrats are hoping to get additional funding in order to conduct the assessment. However, the lawmakers learned Monday that President Bush's 2008 budget slashes New York's homeland security funding by 22 percent. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) says the Bush administration is not matching its strong security rhetoric with the necessary dollars.

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