Fire Grants and Safety Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 870, the Fire Grants and Safety Act. Included in this legislation is a bipartisan nuclear energy package, which I was very proud to work on on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

As I have said many times before, an all-of-the-above strategy is critical to reclaim American energy dominance, and nuclear--our Nation's largest source of clean energy--has a pivotal role to play.

In Georgia's 12th District, we are leading our Nation's nuclear future at Plant Vogtle with the first two new nuclear reactors built and in commercial operation in the United States in three decades.

Just last week, I welcomed Members of Congress and industry leaders to my district for a panel discussion on the benefits of nuclear energy expansion, followed by a visit to Plant Vogtle to see units 3 and 4 officially up and running on the grid.

This historic accomplishment is nothing short of remarkable, but make no mistake about it, it was a challenging process.

Nuclear projects in the U.S. are often bogged down by burdensome licensing and permitting that result in unnecessary delays and increased costs.

My bill, the Nuclear Licensing Efficiency Act, is included in the bipartisan nuclear package and provides efficient, timely, and predictable reviews of applications and proceedings for licenses of nuclear reactors.

It allows information that was used in the licensing process for an existing nuclear reactor site to be used in further licensing and permitting at the site, and it establishes a timeframe of once every 3 years to update performance metrics and milestone schedules to be as efficient as possible.

By modernizing these processes, America can fully embrace the reliability of clean 24/7 nuclear energy as we have in Georgia.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on S. 870.

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