Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am Frank L. “Skip” Bowman, president and chief executive officer at the Nuclear Energy Institute. Thank you for this opportunity to share the nuclear energy industry’s assessment of the Department of Energy’s civilian radioactive waste management policies and of the Yucca Mountain project. Having served 38 years in our United States Navy, I am convinced that our country’s national security is inextricably linked to our energy security, and that nuclear energy must be a large part of that energy security.

NEI is responsible for developing policy for the commercial nuclear industry. NEI’s 250 members represent a broad spectrum of interests, including every U.S. electric company that operates a nuclear power plant. 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.

Summary
In keeping with the scope of this hearing, I will focus my testimony on the following key issues:

• DOE must make visible and measurable progress in implementing an integrated national used nuclear fuel management strategy, which has as an integral component the Yucca Mountain, Nev., repository. This progress will help ensure that the expanded use of nuclear energy will play a key role in our nation’s strategy for meeting growing electricity demand.
• The industry’s evaluation of DOE’s civilian used nuclear fuel program’s actions to address challenges so that the federal government meets its statutory and contractual obligations to remove used nuclear fuel from utility sites and dispose of it in a timely manner.

The industry believes that the provisions of the Nuclear Fuel Management and Disposal Act, S. 2589, provide a solid basis for making the necessary progress towards addressing the challenges. We urge the committee to hold a subsequent hearing on the details of this legislation as soon as possible and report to the Senate its legislative recommendations to move forward on implementing our national policy during this session of Congress.