Fixing Our Broken Nuclear Waste Management Program

Floor Speech

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Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his work on this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3053, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act. Spent nuclear fuel currently sits in 121 communities across 39 States, simply because we lack a permanent geological repository to dispose of the waste. That is why I am proud to join my colleagues as a cosponsor of H.R. 3053, which would enact critical reforms to our nuclear waste management strategy.

Back home, in Georgia's 12th, we are leading the way in the expansion of our Nation's nuclear energy resources. My district is the proud home of every nuclear reactor in the State, with an additional two reactors under construction at Plant Vogtle. Nuclear energy is Georgia's most reliable power source and provides over 6,000 high-skilled jobs, many of which are filled by my constituents in Georgia's 12th. But without a permanent solution, nuclear waste remains on those sites.

Now is the time for Congress to act on fulfilling our obligation to dispose of the spent nuclear fuel sitting in our States. I thank the Energy and Commerce Committee for passing this important legislation, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this important bill.

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