clean energy is at the center of the research effort that we ought to be doing in the United States

Do you support building a permanent repository at Yucca Mountain?

I don't want a response from you on that, but I did find in this budget one area that I want to compliment you for and ask you to comment on.

If we specifically appropriate general appropriation funds this year for you to continue the work needed to be prepared to take title to use nuclear fuel and store it at a private site, will you be able to use those funds to make progress…

Despite that, over the last weekend, China--the list of the most powerful supercomputers was released. China maintained two top places.

Let's talk about the dilute part of dilute and disposal first.

I want the United States to be the global leader in this cutting edge technology.

I think there are ways to deal with the spent fuel that are appropriate from the standpoint of how you deal with nuclear energy.

the budget proposes to eliminate ARPA-E, and that's not what we're going to do.

If you're spending 40 or 50 percent of your time filling out records instead of talking to patients, either you're not doing your job or we're not doing our job.

I believe Republicans will need to do some things temporarily that we don't want to do in the long term.

I think the fact that successive administrations have come to the same conclusion is very important.

Senator Feinstein and I became alarmed, would not be too strong a word, about continuing prospects of cost overruns there.

Thank you, Senator Feinstein.

Thank you. Let me ask you about the new contract.

So I am going to conclude that unless Russia changes its mind, it is out of the agreement.

the quickest way to do it seems to be and the cheapest way to do it seems to be to continue to open Yucca Mountain

I look forward to working with Senator Feinstein on another strong bill this year.

Senator Feinstein and I meet regularly with you and other officials for an update on that.

I think in most commercial settings that is true.

So your agreement with Idaho is you are supposed to be out of there by when?

I think we ought to try to present this in the most accurate light.

Such as Yucca Mountain?

When we have our discussions over the next few weeks, we need to be accurate about that

So that is at least 20 years faster or more to get the MOX out of South Carolina if you use dilute and disposal.