Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - September 27, 2006)

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Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I rise today to express my strong support for the Nuclear Fuel Management and Disposal Act introduced today by Senator PETE DOMENICI. Senator Domenici has long been a courageous supporter of dependable, emissions-free nuclear energy, and he is largely responsible for the current renaissance of nuclear power in this country--with upwards of 30 new nuclear reactors on the drawing board to be licensed in the next several years. Senator Domenici's landmark legislation will help assure the future of nuclear power in this country by providing the necessary legislation for moving forward on the long-stalled Yucca Mountain repository and authorizing much-needed interim storage for spent fuel and high-level waste that has been accumulating around the country. For used nuclear fuel that will eventually be recycled, the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations bill approved by the Appropriations Committee earlier this year provides for interim storage of commercial spent fuel at Consolidation and Preparation--CAP--facilities. Senator Domenici's legislation introduced today addresses defense spent fuel and high-level waste that cannot be recycled, so that these wastes will be sent to Yucca Mountain for storage and eventual disposal. In this way, this bill removes the final roadblock to developing new nuclear power in this country.

And let me say a few words about this ``roadblock'' to Yucca that has persisted for so many years. The Federal Government made a promise to take possession of spent nuclear fuel in order to safely and permanently dispose of it in a geologic repository. We promised to begin taking this fuel back in 1998--8 years ago. However, through concerted efforts by the state of Nevada and its congressional delegation, progress on Yucca has often slowed to a crawl. This is the classic NIMBY attitude--``not in my backyard.'' And yet my colleague from Nevada, Mr. Reid, has repeatedly called for this Congress and the administration to do something to help reduce emissions of greenhouse gases because of his concerns about global warming.

This Congress and this administration have done a great deal to promote emission-free power generation. This Congress passed the Energy Policy Act last year, which provided financial incentives for new, emission-free sources of energy, including wind, solar, clean coal--and nuclear. And earlier this year, this administration introduced the Advanced Energy Initiative--AEI--to support research and development of new energy sources--including nuclear power. In fact, the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership--GNEP--is one part of the AEI. One goal of GNEP is to reduce the amount and toxicity of nuclear waste ultimately destined for disposal at Yucca Mountain; another goal is to eventually help expand the deployment of emission-free nuclear power in developing countries that otherwise would need to depend on burning fossil fuels for their growing energy demands. Contrary to Senator Reid's comments about doing nothing to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we have done a great deal to develop emission-free energy in this country and abroad. But the deployment of nuclear power requires that we manage the spent fuel from nuclear power plants in a safe and responsible manner. One aspect of that management strategy must be to open the Yucca Mountain repository as soon as possible.

As Senator Domenici has said, Yucca Mountain is the cornerstone of a comprehensive spent-fuel management strategy for this country, but Yucca alone cannot meet the government's spent-fuel obligations. Through GNEP we will also explore technologies that promise to reduce the volume and toxicity of spent fuel. Thus, GNEP, interim storage and Yucca Mountain together provide a comprehensive program for safely managing our Nation's Nuclear waste.

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