September 15 – It’s in our country’s economic, energy and national security interests to enrich uranium domestically for clean nuclear power generation. Congressman Zach Wamp discussed the national assets and missions at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex with U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman, who recently visited Oak Ridge. Zach emphasized again the importance of the USEC loan guarantee to create the world’s leading enrichment facility for civilian power and the need for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to build a Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) at Y-12. As the Uranium Center of Excellence, Y-12 is a world leader in safe handling of nuclear material. Congressman Wamp also stated his support for commercial nuclear power, which is necessary to meet the growing demand for electricity and reduce emissions while leading the world in energy technology.