I appreciate your continued leadership on this important issue.
Nuclear power plays a critical role in the United States energy supply.
Providing over 20 percent of the electric power in this country, nuclear energy is one of the cleanest and safest ways we have to produce power. The experience has led me to conclude that it is insanity to believe that we can meet our energy and environmental needs without the use of nuclear power. Fortunately, I am not alone in this conviction. Those who think we can accomplish these goals without a significant nuclear industry are simply mistaken. Many of the problems which have hindered the development and increased use of nuclear power in the United States has not arisen from safety risks or inherent problems with the use of the technology, but from burdensome regulations and high economic risks associated with licensing and bringing a new plant on-line.