Pete Domenici: “Mr. President, I rise to compliment Senator Murkowski's leadership on the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act. I…”

“Mr. President, I rise to compliment Senator Murkowski's leadership on the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act. I appreciate his efforts to enable progress on the nation's need for concrete action on spent nuclear fuel. I find it amazing how fear of anything in this country with 'nuclear' in its title, like 'nuclear waste', seems to paralyze our ability to act decisively. Nuclear issues are immediately faced with immense political challenges. There are many great examples of how nuclear technologies impact our daily lives. Yet few of our citizens know enough about the benefits we've gained from harnessing the nucleus to support actions focused on reducing the remaining risks. Just one example that should be better understood and appreciated involves our nuclear navy. Their experience has important lessons for better understanding of these technologies. The Nautilus, our first nuclear powered submarine, was launched in 1954. Since then, the Navy has launched over 200 nuclear powered ships, and about 85 are currently in operation.”