Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Hall and distinguished members of the subcommittee, my name is David Joos. I am president and chief executive officer of Consumers Energy. My company owns two nuclear power plants that border Lake Michigan. The Palisades unit is 16 miles north of St. Joseph, Michigan. The second, Big Rock Point near Charlevoix, Michigan, was the nation's longest running nuclear power plant until its retirement in 1997.

Today, I am testifying on behalf of the Nuclear Energy Institute and representing the nuclear energy industry's position on H.R. 45, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1999.

I want to express my gratitude to you, Mr. Chairman, Congressmen Hall, Dingell, Upton and Towns and the rest of the subcommittee for your unflagging commitment to resolving the nuclear waste issue. I also would like to thank the 14 subcommittee members who thus far have joined 70 House members in co-sponsoring H.R. 45.

This broad bipartisan support is a clear signal to the federal government that it must fulfill its statutory obligation to accept used nuclear fuel and must adopt an integrated plan to manage the nation's nuclear byproducts.