Jeff Bingaman

Thank you very much. Thank all 3 witnesses for excellent testimony.

The Commission makes a strong case for interim storage, but only in the context of a parallel disposal program.

Repositories are the only technically, economically and morally viable solution.

I think there's an agreement that we need a permanent geologic repository.

We believe that steps towards implementation of near-term proposals that do not have to wait for comprehensive legislative action would be a clear and unmistakable signal that the Administration and Congress are willing to take the…

We believe the bill that Senator Bingaman has prepared represents a very useful starting point for an important discussion.

We commend you for your attention to the problem of chartering a new course for addressing this important problem.

In conclusion, and as we said to this committee in February, the national interest demands that our nuclear waste program be fixed.

Regrettably, we were not as successful as the Blue Ribbon Commission was in reaching a unanimous bipartisan consensus.

S. 3469 is intended to implement the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission that Secretary Chu appointed to review the nuclear waste program.

I would again like to thank the BRC for their dedicated work in developing a path forward.

The Blue Ribbon Commission was worthy of its name. It was made up of 15 highly distinguished individuals from academia, from industry, from public service.

Thank you, Senator Bingaman, for your long standing commitment to tackling climate change, and for your commitment to New Mexico's environment.

Climate change is a tremendously pressing issue that we can't afford to continue ignoring.

I would ask that in addition to supported Federal agency action that you also support S. 2283, which would allow tribal government to directly request a Presidential disaster declaration.

Our Pueblo is involved in a multigenerational effort to restore our forest and our watershed after the devastating Los Conchas wildfire.

In the Senate I work to advance policies to reduce greenhouse gases about 20 clean energy sources and greater efficiency.

The purpose of the hearing, the focus of it, is to talk about the impacts of climate change on the Intermountain West.

Thank you, Senator and Chairman Bingaman for this opportunity to testify on the critically important issue of climate change.

While election year politics will keep this legislation from being enacted in this Congress, I hope it will serve as a foundation for passing legislation perhaps in the next Congress.

In the end, we cannot, and we should not, expend resources on every known vulnerability: it would just be too expensive.

Thank you for what you have done for our area, for New Mexico and for Clovis.

As Chairman Bingaman has noted, Reclamation's analysis shows that an increase in funding for the construction of rural water projects to $80M per year would reduce the total Federal appropriations needed to complete the projects by more…

The federal government's participation and funding capabilities are essential to making the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System a reality.

It's a very important issue. I look forward to learning from the witnesses whatever can be done.