Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague Senator Cantwell to commemorate the Hanford B Reactor in our home State of Washington as we approach the 70th anniversary of the world's first full-scale self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. An essential part of the Manhattan Project, on September 26, 1944, the B Reactor was successfully energized to convert uranium into plutonium, an event known as going critical. The entire facility was built in only 13 months, and only a handful of the 50,000 workers at the site knew what was being assembled. The speed and precision of the construction of the facility remain an engineering marvel today. It was not until later that the majority of these workers learned they had played a key role in the history of nuclear materials production in the United States and helped the U.S. win World War II and the Cold War. The B Reactor went on to operate for more than 20 years until 1968, making its mark on the 20th century. After ceasing operations, the B Reactor was to be encased in concrete like all the other reactors as part of the Hanford Reservation cleanup efforts. Given the B Reactor's historic role, I worked for many years with Senator Cantwell and the entire Washington delegation to ensure this piece of our nation's history is preserved for generations to come. After years of hard work, I was pleased when the U.S.…”