Atomic Energy Advancement Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership on this important issue as ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bipartisan legislation, in particular, the important changes it makes to how we regulate commercial fusion energy.

Last spring, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission took an important vote to regulate commercial fusion energy under its existing regulatory framework--specifically, the byproduct materials framework. This was a critical step toward unlocking commercialized fusion energy, and it was made possible by a recognition that fusion does not need to be regulated the same way as fission.

Since then, the Congressional Fusion Energy Caucus, which I have the honor of co-chairing alongside Representatives Don Beyer, Jay Obernolte, and Chuck Fleischmann, put pen to paper on the Fusion Energy Act, which will codify the Commission's decision and provide the fusion industry the regulatory certainty that it needs to continue pursuing their innovative research and development.

During consideration of this package in December, we offered the Fusion Energy Act as an amendment, which was adopted unanimously and is included in this legislation today.

I cannot overstate the importance of passing this package because fusion is the game changer. A future with fusion means thousands of good-paying, family-sustaining, clean energy jobs that we will create along the way.

Fusion unlocks a future where energy production is no longer tied to access to a resource. It means an endless supply of baseload clean energy, without any emissions. It means dictators like Vladimir Putin won't be able to manipulate energy markets to suit their needs.

Madam Speaker, but make no mistake, both our allies and our adversaries are racing to unlock fusion energy. The U.K. is investing 660 million pounds; Germany recently announced a 1-billion-euro investment; and China has already invested 1.8 billion in their state- owned facilities, with plans to massively ramp up over the next decade.

In China, there is no private industry investment in fusion. It is all government-controlled, and that is a huge competitive advantage that we have on them.

What the United States does best is innovate through public-private partnerships that leverage Federal research dollars with the work happening at cutting-edge startups and businesses across our country.

One of those companies, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, is located in the district I represent. Since its founding roughly 5 years ago, CFS has raised more than $2 billion in private investment, employs over 600 people, and is well on its way to building SPARC, a fusion machine that will achieve net energy and demonstrates that producing commercial fusion energy in just a few years is possible.

Madam Speaker, if we are going to beat China to fusion, then it is absolutely critical that we provide companies like CFS with the regulatory certainty that they need. Passing this bipartisan package does just that.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important, commonsense legislation that will advance commercial fusion energy.

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