Chairman Hobson, Ranking Member Visclosky and members of the subcommittee, I am retired Admiral Skip Bowman, president and chief executive officer at the Nuclear Energy Institute. I appreciate the opportunity to provide this testimony for the record on the future of nuclear energy in the United States. I want to begin by thanking both of you and the entire subcommittee for your support of nuclear energy, and specifically for fully funding the Yucca Mountain project and for your leadership on the issue of interim storage.

NEI is responsible for developing policy for the U.S. nuclear industry. Our organization’s 270 member companies represent a broad spectrum of interests, including every company that operates a nuclear power plant in the United States. NEI’s membership also includes nuclear fuel-cycle companies, suppliers, engineering and consulting firms, national research laboratories, manufacturers of radiopharmaceuticals, universities, labor unions, and law firms.

America’s 103 nuclear power plants are the most efficient and reliable in the world. Nuclear energy is the largest source of emission-free electricity in the United States and our nation’s second-largest source of electricity after coal. Nuclear power plants in 31 states provide electricity for one of every five U.S. homes and businesses.

Given these facts and the strategic importance of nuclear energy to our nation’s energy security and economic growth, NEI encourages the Congress to maintain policies that ensure continued operation of our nation’s operating plants, and to provide the stimulus required to expand emission-free nuclear energy in the future.