Senator Carper: Thank you. I think I want to start with a more general question and then maybe come to something more specific to a part of the country in which I live and represent. A couple of months ago I took a bunch of Boy Scouts from Wilmington, Delaware down to the Norfolk Naval Station, as I do every few years. Both our boys are active in scouting. I took Troop 67 back to the Norfolk Naval Station. We visited submarines and nuclear powered submarines and ships, and an aircraft carrier in port.
 
The aircraft carrier itself is about 1,000 feet long. It is at least 20 stories high. There are roughly 5,000 sailors aboard the ship. When the airplane is on board, I think it brings a lot more people and maybe 75 or so aircraft. The interesting thing for me about the nuclear-powered carrier is that it stops to refuel about once every 25 years, unlike the other ships that were on either side of it which need to refuel about every week. For me, that is always a good reminder that nuclear energy is not just an important part of our military and our naval forces, but it is also an important part of our energy.

Looking over the briefing materials, I was reminded again of the amount of CO2, carbon dioxide, that the nuclear power plants do not put into the air. I was reminded of the amount of dollars that reliance on nuclear energy does not add to our trade deficit. I was reminded of the reduction in imported oil that a reliance on nuclear power for the generation of electricity affords us.

I sit here today as one who believes that it is important that we continue to maintain and strengthen going forward our reliance on nuclear energy as part of, not all of, but part of our energy needs in this country.