Rodney Frelinghuysen: “I will insist on my point of order but would first make a few comments. The gentleman's amendment prescribes a path…”

“I will insist on my point of order but would first make a few comments. The gentleman's amendment prescribes a path forward for the back end of the nuclear energy fuel cycle by directing the Department of Energy to develop a specific type of reprocessing plan and facility, the integral fast reactor. Let me say I appreciate our colleague from California's passion for moving forward our Nation's strategy for handling spent nuclear fuel, and I want to thank him for the many times he approached me on this issue. I and many of my colleagues share the gentleman's concerns, and I have repeatedly pushed the administration to move forward at least one piece of the solution, which is the Yucca Mountain repository. There is, however, ongoing debate about the future of the back end of our Nation's fuel cycle. There are many approaches, including open, closed and modified fuel cycles. Each of these approaches--some of which utilize reprocessing facilities--are far from straightforward and can be accomplished using a variety of competing technologies. While I appreciate my colleague's desire to move the Nation forward, we must carefully evaluate these highly technical issues to address the economic safety and nonproliferation impacts that accompany any fuel cycle option. The gentleman's amendment chooses one winning technology, and I believe it deserves more careful evaluation before moving forward. Point of Order”