Chairman Gekas, Ranking Member Nadler and members of the subcommittee, my name is Ted Garrish. I am a vice president at the Nuclear Energy Institute. NEI is the policy-setting organization for the U.S. nuclear energy industry. We represent more than 275 members worldwide, including every U.S. electric utility that operates a nuclear power plant, as well as suppliers, nuclear fuel cycle companies, engineering and consulting firms, radiopharmaceutical laboratories, universities, and labor unions.

Nuclear power plants produce nearly 20 percent of the nation's electricity and provide the largest source of emission-free energy in the United States. This energy source must be sustained to meet the energy, economic and environmental protection demands of the 21st century.

The U.S. nuclear energy industry has built a solid record of safe, efficient performance at the nation's 103 nuclear power reactors, making it the global leader in advanced nuclear power technology.

Obviously a critical component in determining the economic vitality of any industry is the tax structure under which it must operate. In the nuclear power industry, we are faced with somewhat unique circumstances. Our industry pays a user fee for its regulation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and pays a millage fee for the ultimate storage of our used nuclear fuel. It is rare for an industry to pay for both the disposition of its used fuel and also its own regulation.