Brandon Williams: “Thank you, Congressman Dold. Mr. Speaker, I wish to discuss an important matter that we have heard tonight and talk a…”

“Thank you, Congressman Dold. Mr. Speaker, I wish to discuss an important matter that we have heard tonight and talk a little bit about it more, that impacts both my home State of Texas and, as we have heard already, the Nation. Nuclear power is a clean, efficient, and virtually inexhaustible fuel source. Many people rely on it. In fact, in Somerville County, Texas, Comanche Peak is a nuclear power plant that generates enough power to supply about 1.15 million homes in normal conditions and 460,000 homes in periods of peak demand. Nuclear waste, however, must be isolated for tens of thousands of years to safely degrade. Yucca Mountain--we have talked a lot about it tonight--is the official Federal nuclear waste repository and is the law of the land under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. The Department of Energy has concluded that the repository would have little to no adverse impact on future populations or the environment; yet President Obama and Harry Reid effectively have delayed the Yucca program in 2009 without proposing any kind of alternative energy or energy strategy. Now, like many other nuclear power plants across the United States, Comanche Peak in my district has been paying dues for storing waste, which some think could be as much as $30 billion which, of course, is simply passed on to its customers. That is what always happens. Nuclear waste in our communities poses an environmental risk, a terrorism risk, and prevents communities from redeveloping the property.…”