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[Pages S1378-S1379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY
Mr. RISCH. Madam President, along with my colleagues Senator Mike
Crapo and Representative Mike Simpson, I recognize an important
anniversary being celebrated at the U.S. Department of Energy's, DOE,
890-square-mile site in eastern Idaho.
On February 18, 1949, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission decided to
build the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho.
For 70 years, work done by the scientists, engineers, technicians,
and support staff at Idaho's lab has helped
[[Page S1379]]
promote American prosperity and contributed to our national security.
Since 1967, research conducted at Idaho National Laboratory's, INL,
Advanced Test Reactor has powered and modernized the U.S. Nuclear Navy.
Fifty years ago, the Navy had to refuel its nuclear fleet frequently,
an expensive and time-consuming process.
Today, as a result of experiments conducted at the Advanced Test
Reactor, ATR, the Navy's nuclear fleet can run the lifetime of the
ship--more than three decades--without refueling. That saves American
taxpayers millions of dollars and ensures that our fleet is actively
defending U.S. national security instead of sitting in port waiting to
be refueled.
Roughly a decade and a half ago, Congress designated INL as the
Nation's lead nuclear energy research and development laboratory. This
is fitting because on December 20, 1951, INL first demonstrated nuclear
fission could be used to generate power to light our homes and cities.
Throughout its history, INL has built and operated 52 original nuclear
reactors and helped establish an American industry that today produces
approximately 19 percent of our Nation's electricity and more than half
of our carbon-free electricity. INL has become a world leader in cyber
security research and works actively with government and industry to
protect and make the Nation's most critical infrastructure more
resilient. INL has advanced broader clean energy research, informing
electric vehicle deployment and developing bioenergy solutions that
benefit the environment and our Nation's farmers. Even as we celebrate
INL's 70 years, the lab's leadership and staff are looking ahead. Those
seven decades of service provide a foundation upon which today's INL
will help this Nation build a brighter future. INL leads the effort to
maintain and extend the lives of America's nuclear reactor fleet, while
helping industry develop advanced reactor designs, including small
modular reactors and microreactors. INL's vital national and homeland
security work grows more important every day as our systems become
increasingly automated and interdependent.
As we eye the energy systems that will power U.S. prosperity into the
future, INL's clean energy research is developing breakthroughs that
will help integrate renewables into the power grid and allow our
manufacturing and transportation systems to operate more efficiently
and with less environmental impact.
It is our great honor to congratulate INL and DOE on this important
anniversary, and to wish its employees well as they work to resolve our
nation's pressing clean energy and national security challenges.
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