But what have you done other than asking for other people to weigh in? What have you done in this month to start moving the SER forward?

the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must promptly continue with the legally mandated licensing process.

the DOE would close down the Yucca Mountain program, abandoning the 30 years of research and $15 billion invested.

Yucca Mountain is the law of the land.

The court has said we must proceed with the licensing.

How is it that an independent agency with a clear statutory responsibility is criticized by a Federal court for having 'no current intention of complying with the law'?

And I am talking about oversight by the legislative branch over the executive branch and independent agencies.

As we have testified in other hearings, our concern has been whether this is a workable solution to move forward, and I believe that without a consent-based process, it is not a workable solution.

So that is a no, Mr. Lyons? That is a no that it wasn't a science-based decision to shut it down? That is what you just said. You are saying it was a political----

If we do not take action by following the circuit court's decision or Congress finding a different path forward on this important issue, all of us--DOE, NRC, and Congress--will be letting down the very people we were sent here for and…

We are going to hold you accountable. I hope that is clear.

You talk bipartisanship, 4 to 1 by this chamber in the House 3 consecutive years in a row in supporting Yucca Mountain.

If the gentleman would yield. And to the members of the panel, you better take the questions seriously because he is asking a question why didn't you comply with the law?

Yes, and if the gentlelady would yield, we currently have a law to deal with that and we are just trying to enforce the administration to comply with the law.

I hope that you understand something and that you have seen the resolve of this committee to hold your agency accountable to the American people and to the laws that have been duly passed by this Congress.

I also would ask unanimous consent to submit for the record an August 20 editorial by The New York Times entitled, 'Time to Stop Stalling on Nuclear Waste.'

I also ask unanimous consent to submit for the record a letter that Chairman Upton and I sent to the NRC on August 23 discussing the recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit and the NRC's response dated September 6…

In that way, the NRC keeps the public informed of the agency's regulatory licensing and oversight activities, which you stated earlier.

the parties until September 30 to comment on how the NRC should proceed, however well-intentioned, is eerily reminiscent of past NRC efforts to slow the review process.

I strongly believe the NRC's first order of business is to complete and release the Safety Evaluation Report.

We are supposed to be on the same side. It is the side of the American people.

Then, finally, Chairman Upton and I received a letter from Ranking Members Waxman and Tonko indicating their desire to examine the status of Fukushima Nuclear Plant in Japan.

Our concern is people who have insurance are going to lose their insurance.

The 40 percent is the straw that broke the camel's back, at least for this guy.

Now that we are on the precipice of implementing this landmark law to its fullest extent and the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, I believe we should all accept this fact and work together to ensure implementation goes smoothly…