Senate Proceeding on Oct 29th, 2009 :: 1:24:20 to 1:36:50
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1:24:16 to 1:24:36( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: unemployment rate nearing double digits. the presiding officer: the senator's time has expired. mr. hatch: mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the

1:24:20 to 1:36:50( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Mark Udall

1:24:37 to 1:24:58( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: senator from colorado. mr. udall: mr. president, i rise today to speak about the role nuclear energy can play in moving our k-pbt toward a more -- our country toward a more secure energy future. for some news that a udall is speaking favorably about nuclear power will come as a stark and perhaps unpleasant surprise. but i also believe that public

1:24:59 to 1:25:21( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: and expert opinion on the risks and benefits of nuclearower has changed. mr. president, the environmental and security challenges tied to energy that we faced in the 1970's, when that decade closed in the shadow of three mile island, have changed significantly. when my father, mo udall, campaigned for president in the

1:25:22 to 1:25:42( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: new hampshire primary in 1976 -- and the presiding officer remembers that era -- and when he was asked about the controversial seabrook nuclear facility, no one had climate change on their list of environmental concerns. today, mr. president, more than 30 years on, we have a less parochial and more global view about the challenges of energy security, climate change and the

1:25:43 to 1:26:03( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: problems associated with carbon-based energy production. given the economic national security and environmental threats that our current energy system creates, we need a comprehensive and cleaner national energy policy. in this regard, clearly nuclear energy has emerged as an important player in our search

1:26:04 to 1:26:24( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: for a stable and domestic energy source that has less greenhouse gas emiions. a cleaner energy ecomy will spur innovation in and accelerate the shift to clean and domestic energy sources. it will create a new industrial sector, employing millions of americans in research, development, manufacture, sale,

1:26:25 to 1:26:47( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: installation, and servicing of new energy technologies. and it will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil from unstable regions of the world. moreover, like it or not, we must address the climate challenge that we face. my state of colorado is already seeing the indirect impacts of carbon pollution in the form of

1:26:48 to 1:27:08( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: a devastating infestation that is killing our forests. now, mr. president, looking beyond environmental concerns and as we face perhaps our greatest economic crisis since the great depression, we need an all-of-the above solution to jump-start our economy. that means continuing the development of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and

1:27:09 to 1:27:29( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: biomass, as well as traditional energy sources like coal, oil and cleaner fuels like natural gas. that also means that we should continue to invest in energy efficiency and conservation technology. and that means that nuclear energy and new nuclear power plants must be a part of the mix. now, mr. president, as i said

1:27:30 to 1:27:50( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: earlier, a growing number of skeptics and even opponents of nuclear power are taking a second look at this industry. i count myself among them, and these are some of the reasons why. first, in the last few decades, the peformance and safety record of nuclear plant operations in the united states has greatly improved.

1:27:51 to 1:28:11( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: safety is and always must be the number-one priority at nuclear facilities. there's always more that we can do on safety, but the industry has built a good record, and we should recognize that fact. then there are the environmental benefits to nuclear power. unlike fossil fuel plants, nuclear plants do not emit

1:28:12 to 1:28:32( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: appreciable amounts of sul far dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury or particute matter. that means they cause less acid rain and health ailments. nuclear plants release minimum amounts of carbon pollution. in fact, nuclear power plants are few one of t few

1:28:55 to 1:29:15( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: commercial c.c.s. plants and do all we can to develop an economically viable carbon capte and sequestration technology. mr. president, i've long been a supporter of renewable energy and energy efficiency, and i will always continue to be so. but the scale of the energy changes we must make dictates that we be open to the widest variety of energy options,

1:29:16 to 1:29:36( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: particularly those with domestic potential and those with cleaner emissions. in other words, there's no silver bullet that will solve all of our energy challenges. we're going to need, in the parlance of the west, silver buck shot. in examining all the pros and cons, i've come to the view that nuclear ergy is a part of that silver buck shot.

1:29:37 to 1:29:58( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: now i who remain skeptical of nuclear power, including good friends of mine. nuclear power is not trouble-free. no energy source is. hope we can all agree, however, on our clean energy goals: more jobs, greater energy security and a cleaner environment for our children.

1:29:59 to 1:30:19( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: supporters and opponents of nuclear power share another concern in common: neither knows for sure how much new nuclear plants are is going to cost. we have a new licensing process that's never been tested. we have not order add new nuclear plant in three decades. many nuclear technology components for at least the first wave of nuclear plants will likely be manufactured in

1:30:20 to 1:30:40( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: other countries, and the future cost of construction materials is unknown. these uncertainties along with others led the national academy of sciences to estimate that electricity from new nuclear plants would likely cost in the rang cents to

1:30:41 to 1:31:03( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: kill low watt hour, which large span. i think we need to build new nuclear plants over the next decade. this first wave of new plants will go a long way towards telling us whether new plants can be built on budget and on schedule in the united states. i hope the answers are "yes" and "yes" and that the final cost of electricity is at the lower end

1:31:04 to 1:31:25( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: of the uncertainty range. i say this because if nuclear energy is to survive as a viable option, it will need to compete against other low-carbon technologies in the long run. now, some, mr. president, may object to the building of new nuclear plants before we have a long-term solution to the question of what to do with nuclear waste.

1:31:26 to 1:31:47( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: it's true that we do not have a permanent solution right now. it's also true, mr. predent, that the answers about the viability, both environment and politil, of yucca mountain continue to elude us. as a member of the house of representatives, i shared these concerns and voted accordingly.

1:31:48 to 1:32:09( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: but uncertainty about a long-term and permanent solution to waste storage is not a reason to halt nuclear power. i'm confident that we have the technical capabilities and international to safely and responsibly store nuclear waste for the required time periods. this is not a technology problem, but it is a challenge to find a fair and safe path

1:32:10 to 1:32:30( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: forward, and i support the president's intention to appoint a blue-ribbon commission to make such a recommendation. in the meantime, dray cast storage provides a -- dry-cask storage provides a safe, proven option for at least 100 years ago. we have time to get this right, so let's not rush into anything

1:32:31 to 1:32:53( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: under a false sense of emergency. now, mr. president, let me turn to another subject tied to nuclear power production and that's reprocessing. it's been suggesting that we should build commercial-scale facilities in the u.s. to reprocess our spent fuel as france and japan do. i don't believe that that makes sense. why? well, first let me pnt out

1:32:54 to 1:33:16( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: that the french system of reprocess something not a comprehensive waste management strategy and so far the benefits from that approach are fairly marginal. in other words, they haven't solved their waste challenge with reprocessing. secondly, we don't need to recycle spent nuclear fuel to enable the expansion of nuclear power in the united states and elsewhere.

1:33:17 to 1:33:37( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: the uranium supplies are sufficient to support an expansion of nuclear power during the next century. third, the international proliferation risk associated with reprogression reprocessing is a concern.

1:33:59 to 1:34:21( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: i do support research into advanced proliferation-resistant technologies, although none of those will be ready for deployment anymore i anytime in the near future. our goal should be to keep nuclear power as low-cost as possible. to that end, today i am introducing a bipartisan bill, the nuclear energy research

1:34:22 to 1:34:42( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: initiative improvement act of 2009. this bill, which is cosponsored by chairman bingaman and ranking member murkowski, authorizes the u.s. department of energy to conduct research into modular and small-scale reactors, enhanced proliferation controls and cost-efficient manufacturing. mr. president, we're going to be debating clean energy

1:35:26 to 1:35:46( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: economic downturn. nuclear power's energy security and environmental benefits have earned this industry an important place at the table. it is my hope that we can build some nuclear plants over the next decade to create jobs and build a cleaner, more secure tomorrow.

1:35:47 to 1:36:07( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: as i begin to close, i would like invite all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join us in cosponsoring the nuclear energy research initiative improvement act of 2009. mr. president, before i yield the floor, i want to note that one of my energy fellows, bowen, is lving my office to

1:36:08 to 1:36:29( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Udall: join the department of energy. i want to thank him for his work in my office, including on the bill that i'm introducing today, and wish him well at the department of energy. we have been well-served as a country by matt bowen's patriotism and work ethic. we mr. president, with that, i