Fixing Our Broken Nuclear Waste Management Program

Floor Speech

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Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Shimkus for yielding. Again, I am here tonight to join a bunch of my colleagues to speak in strong support of H.R. 3053, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017, which Mr. Shimkus has skillfully guided through the Energy and Commerce Committee, again, a 49-4 vote on a committee which basically is challenged, in many instances, with other issues from healthcare and energy policy, you name it.

It is really just an amazing accomplishment on his part dealing with one of the thorniest, toughest issues, which, again, has been out there for 30 years, which is, again, how we, as a nation, deal with the tons of nuclear waste that is now piled up and accumulating in over 100 communities around the country.

Again, I represent the Second District of Connecticut, the eastern half of the State, which has two operating nuclear facilities. One has been decommissioned, the old Connecticut Yankee facility, which sits very close to the Connecticut River. Again, it has been closed for over a decade. The plant itself has been cut up, dismantled. It is now pretty much, you know, just overgrown with vegetation. But still sitting there is dry cask nuclear spent fuel rods, which, again, are being patrolled every single day, literally, as we are here tonight, by heavily armed guards, which makes perfect sense, because, as has been said by other speakers, again, this is still very dangerous material, and again, very close to one of the largest bodies of waters in new England, the Connecticut River.

We also have the Dominion nuclear power plant in Waterford, Connecticut, which today is in full operation. Over 45 percent of the energy consumed in the State of Connecticut is generated at Dominion. It is about 15 percent of New England, because, again, it provides a supply for the rest of the region that is there, and again, this is a plant that goes back decades.

We are also the home of the Groton sub base, which is a base where, again, we have 15 attack subs that are deployed there. Again, the Groton sub base was where the USS Nautilus was launched 62 years ago. Admiral Rickover, the father of the nuclear Navy, actually designed that first sub, which was christened by Mamie Eisenhower.

Again, that sub was built 5 years after the first lightbulb was powered by nuclear power as a nation; again, a pretty amazing accomplishment that Admiral Rickover was able to build and launch a nuclear submarine, something which the folks at the Navy at the time told him wouldn't happen for 75 years. Yet, today, the nuclear force, both in terms of submarines and carriers, are the backbone, again, of our away team, the U.S. Navy.

So, again, we have a lot of history and experience with the fact that we have got really smart capable people who do amazing things in terms of providing the energy needs but also the national security of this country. But, as has been said, again, a byproduct of that is that nuclear waste which we thought 30 years ago was going to be dealt with with the decision that Congress made to dispose of nuclear waste in a central facility in Nevada that, again, ratepayers have paid year in and year out, $40 billion, as was mentioned earlier, but today is still immobilized.

So, again, Mr. Shimkus' effort, in terms of trying to not just restart the process but also to reform it, again, is such an extraordinary effort that really we, as a House, should really take advantage of and move on a bipartisan basis to enact.

This is not your father's Yucca Mountain bill that Mr. Shimkus got through. It made some changes for fairness in terms of ratepayers. It also created more transparency so that local stakeholders in Nevada will have an opportunity to really help make decisions and see and understand the technology that is being employed there.

It also set up an interim process, which, again, if it is over decades, which it is still going to take, that we can at least start moving material out from these over 100 sites situated all across the country, which is so important in terms of reducing costs and reducing national security risk.

His proposal, I think, deserves great support and, frankly, congratulations that he has been able to take this on.

I would note that the country of Finland has actually started to move forward with their own waste disposal site, the Onkalo Peninsula Depository, which a country that is very progressive in terms of a lot of its policies, but that have shown that the technology is there to safely deposit nuclear waste in a way that has real confidence and is moving forward. We should do it, too.

Again, H.R. 3053 is, I think, the roadmap for this country to deal with this problem in a way that is safe, is transparent, and will reduce costs for ratepayers all across the country.

I look forward to seeing a vote take place very soon on the floor of the House. And then, frankly, I look forward to a bill signing ceremony at the White House, where Mr. Shimkus should certainly take a front row seat for his great work.

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Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, may I just make one last point to really underscore that?

Mr. Speaker, I am on the Armed Services Committee, and we are in the midst of moving forward with a 355-ship Navy.

If you look at the force architecture that is going to be in that growth, it is almost all concentrated in submarines and carriers. The fact of the matter is that the challenge of waste disposal for our national defense and national security is going to be with us for many, many years.

To comment again, the gentleman's proposal is a way for us to deal with that and strengthen our Navy and our national defense.

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