[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 190 (Wednesday, December 12, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S15228]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[[Page S15228]]
NNSA SECURES HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I wish today to bring attention to the
progress being made by the National Nuclear Security Administration,
NNSA, on the front of global nuclear non-proliferation. Yesterday the
NNSA announced that 176 pounds of highly enriched uranium, HEU, had
been secured from the Nuclear Research Institute in Rez, Czech Republic
and safely returned to Russia. With the cooperation of several
countries, this nuclear fuel has been secured and returned to its
country of origin, reducing the risk of it falling into the wrong
hands.
Nuclear nonproliferation programs such as the NNSA's Global Threat
Reduction Initiative, GTRI, are some of the most important tools we
have to curb the threat of nuclear material being acquired by those who
wish to do us harm. With the addition of this most recent shipment, the
GTRI program has returned over 1300 pounds of HEU to Russia from
civilian sites worldwide. I applaud the work being done through the
GTRI, and I look forward to the day when we no longer have to be
concerned with the possibility of an illicit acquisition of nuclear
fuel.
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