[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 153 (Monday, November 29, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H7618]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION
(Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, the Blue Ribbon
Commission on America's Nuclear Future is set to visit South Carolina
and the Central Savannah River Area, CSRA, on January 6 and 7. Back in
July, I invited the cochairmen of the commission to request that they
hold their September meeting in the CSRA.
I'm grateful that the commission is planning a visit. This is a
perfect location for the President's nuclear commission to review
policies related to the storage of nuclear waste.
Waste material found in South Carolina is from the weapons production
program of the Cold War resulting in victory over communism and also
now from commercial nuclear reactors that produce energy. The Savannah
River site should not indefinitely host nuclear waste. We should keep
Yucca Mountain open. The closing has been criticized as breathtakingly
irresponsible by The Post and Courier. The Greenville News
editorialized last week that the Yucca closing is politically expedient
but practically foolish.
Nuclear energy is a clean, safe, and cost-effective energy source
that has provided over half of the electricity in South Carolina for 30
years. But in order to keep it safe, we must have a permanent site for
disposal.
In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget
September the 11th in the global war on terrorism.
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