America has finally decided to get serious about nuclear energy again.

President Donald Trump’s executive orders launching a nuclear energy emergency and directing federal agencies to dramatically accelerate advanced reactor deployment signal a turning point. After decades of hesitation, America is once again treating nuclear power as the strategic asset it has always been —  essential to energy security, economic strength and global leadership. We are at the beginning of a new nuclear era, and Idaho is at its center.

This moment has not emerged from executive orders alone. It is built on years of investment and legislative action that created the foundation for what we are now able to do. As a former chairman and current senior member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, I have had direct responsibility for funding the Department of Energy’s nuclear programs. Year after year, that meant fighting to protect and grow investments in nuclear research, development, and demonstration at a time when support was far from guaranteed.

Read more in The Washington Times here.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.