Issue Position: Energy/INEEL - Nuclear Energy

Issue Position

As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water, I believe our nation's soon to be finalized energy plan must ensure that energy generation technologies will provide Americans with an affordable, domestic energy supply. Our energy plan must be sustainable over many decades to ensure we never see a repeat of the energy nightmares we've experienced over the last few years.

That is why I am now more optimistic than ever about an energy technology so important to Idaho's past, present, and future--nuclear power. One of the ways in which we can reverse the mistakes of the past decade and start down the right track toward a stable domestic energy supply is through the expanded use of nuclear power.

Nuclear power stands out as an obvious answer to the many energy-related challenges we now face. Right here in our home state, the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and the Argonne National Laboratory-West are working on the next generation of nuclear reactors. Their vision for nuclear energy is one that will provide American energy consumers with a cheap, reliable, environmentally benign, and inherently safe source of electricity as far into the future as the human mind can envision.

I believe Idaho's labs are headed in the right direction and I'm committed to helping them achieve their mission to enhance our nation's nuclear power capabilities. I want to share with you just a few of the reasons why I believe in the potential for nuclear power.

First, nuclear power is environmentally friendly. Nothing is burned in a nuclear reactor--so there are no emissions into the atmosphere. In fact, nuclear energy is responsible for over 90 percent of the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions coming from the energy industry since 1973. Between 1973 and 1996, nuclear power accounted for emissions reductions of 34.6 million tons of nitrogen oxide and 80.2 million tons of sulfur dioxide. Over the last ten years, nuclear power plants have produced more than 5 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity production with absolutely zero carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, NOx, or particulate matter emissions. Beyond those benefits, existing and emerging technologies will solve the complexities of storing and recycling spent nuclear fuel.

Second, nuclear power is a safe, reliable, and abundant source of power. Not only does the world contain abundant resources for fueling nuclear reactors, but existing and emerging technologies will provide even greater efficiencies in the use of nuclear fuel. Families, farmers, businesses, and individuals who are served by nuclear power are served by one of the most safe and reliable sources of electricity in the world.

Finally, nuclear energy is a home-grown technology. Thanks to the men and women who have worked in Idaho's labs over the past five decades, our nation has long been the world leader in nuclear technology and continues to be the world's largest consumer of nuclear energy. Other nations embraced our work and are meeting their energy needs with nuclear power as well. In fact, France now relies on nuclear power to meet over 80 percent of its energy needs.

Those are just a few of the reasons why I believe it is imperative that we accept the energy challenges before us. To meet these challenges, nuclear power must be a part of the answer. By doing so, we'll be able to confront our short-term energy problems with sound policy, real results, and a long-term solution.

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