Fixing Our Broken Nuclear Waste Management Program
Floor Speech
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Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to be before the House of Representatives this evening, and I want to thank Chairman Shimkus.
When I came to Congress in 2011, I didn't know many people, and one night I had the privilege of meeting John Shimkus from the great State of Illinois. I told him I was from Tennessee, and we started talking. And right away we talked about Yucca Mountain. We talked about nuclear waste, and I told him that I was going to be representing a very special place: Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
So let me start by thanking Chairman John Shimkus. He has been the hero for the Yucca Mountain project. He has worked tirelessly. He has seen this through the courts. He has seen it through the House. He has worked so hard. I thank him for his efforts.
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, it is a beautiful place. I represent the Third District of Tennessee: Oak Ridge, where we had the Manhattan Project, where we won World War II; Oak Ridge, where we won the Cold War; Oak Ridge, where we have worked tirelessly to build our Nation's nuclear arsenal, and today we are still advocating to do that, to keep America strong--great men and women.
But Oak Ridge, like many other places around the Nation--Savannah River, Portsmouth, Hanford--years ago, ladies and gentlemen, when we manufactured our nuclear weapons, we were not as safe and secure as we are today. There was an immediacy. There was a need during World War II to get the bomb built, and we did it in Oak Ridge, and it ended World War II.
But for years thereafter, we were not as safe at many of these venues. What does that mean? That means that legacy wastes were left in communities: sometimes in the soil, sometimes in the water, sometimes in facilities. And what that means is that the Federal Government has a duty to these communities to clean this waste up. And this waste has to go somewhere.
Now, Chairman Shimkus, and we have heard from Chairman Walden--for those of you who are listening tonight, they are authorizers. They authorize the law. I sit on the Appropriations Committee. That is the committee in Congress that authorizes the spending for this.
I am the chairman of the Nuclear Cleanup Caucus. That is how passionate I am about cleaning up nuclear waste not only in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Savannah River; or Hanford, but all over these great United States, because we owe this to the American people.
The Federal Government caused this problem; the Federal Government needs to clean this up. It is the ultimate, I think, in environmental advocacy. This is something that Republicans and Democrats, Members of the House and Members of the Senate, usually agree upon; and we have worked together in this very important caucus.
Why is it important that we pass the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017? Because, first of all, we owe it to the American people. The Department of Energy does a good job in cleanup, but this will revise their programs. It will give what Congress should do, give direction to a Federal agency. So, as we advocate for dollars to clean up the nuclear waste, we need this key authorization bill to give it structure, to give it purpose.
So, in the end, Yucca is critically important--critically important. And I know the people in these affected communities want Yucca Mountain. That is the interesting thing about it. They want it because they realize it is critically important that we store the waste there: it is important for America; it is important for our environment; it is important to these communities; and it is long overdue.
So I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to please work to support H.R. 3053, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017, and I thank Chairman Shimkus.
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