Good morning. So this meeting will now come to order. Today the subcommittee is holding a hearing entitled oversight of doe, during covid19 pandemic. Members will be participating in todays hearing finally in person or remotely via video conferences. And just as a reminder weve had some technical difficulties in making sure that our remote video was operating up to standard. As part of this hearing, the microphones of members participating remotely will be set on mute for the purpose of eliminating inadvertent background noise. Members participating remotely will need to unmute their microphones each time you wish to speak. For members and witnesses participating in person, i encourage you to wear your mask whenever you are not speaking. Dr. Monahan, our physician, stressed in attending physician covid19 guidelines that use of face coverings is meant to protect other people in case someone was unknowingly infected and does not have symptoms. But wearing our mask when we are not speakin
Please knew your microphone. Mute your microphone. [indiscernible] we have previously provided guidance as to how this would [indiscernible] [indiscernible] cspan. Org [indiscernible] [indiscernible] thank you. I want to welcome mr. Menendez and his wife. I appreciate you taking on this post. Tonk you for taking the time talk to me last week and take the best thank you for taking the time this morning. This is the first hearing the committee has held since march the 10th. Since then, millions of americans have filed for unemployment. Nearly one point 5 million have contracted covid19 and nearly 90,000 have perished from the disease. Is work in the u. S. Senate that much more critical and we respond as we respond to this pandemic and return to the economy. Second the highestranking office and the department of energy and the department has been playing a role in helping the nation fight coronavirus. The department of energy is a scientific powerhouse. Its National Laboratories are some
Legacy energy source. Senator udall of new mexico and i have an amendment that will close a loophole in federal Energy Policy. I want my colleagues to know, and i think they do, of my long support for renewable and alternative sources of energy and so i agree with the aims of the murkowskimachin murkowskiy bill. The amendment that senator udall and i have introduced is the same as the bipartisan bill we introduced last week. The title of that bill is the fair return for public lands act. Mr. Grassley this bill was introduced 100 years to the date of the mineral leasing act of 1920. This amendment would increase the royalty rates on federal lands from 12. 5 to 18. 75 . Everybody here knows that a royalty is what the oil company will pay to a mineral owner. In this case the mineral owner is the american taxpayer, and that royalty is paid for the right to extract oil and natural gas from the lands of the United States. The legislation modernizes the public lands leasing system and it does
Impeachment is a political suicide march for the democrat party. This morning, whats next for the senate trial and why the timing of it is suddenly up in the air. Final faceoff, the last democratic president ial debate of the year just hours away with only seven candidates. And just this morning, our new poll on the state of the race whos moving up who needs to score big tonight. Wild weather, tens of millions from maine to florida waking up this morning to brutally cold temperatures. Al will tell us how long theyll stick around. Plus, the story behind this sudden snow squall that hit new york creating chaos for commuters. Those stories, plus alarming breach, the Airport Security concerns being raised after a 17yearold girl steals a plane and then smashes it into a building. tis the season, the new holiday scams you need to watch out for before the last holiday weekend. Eddie murphy is back and ready for his saturday night live home coming. You dont want to come back, i thought he was
Next, a hearing examines options for temporary and permanent Nuclear Waste storage. Lawmakers considered legislation and the future of the Yucca Mountain site in nevada. Held by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee, this is about two hours. Good morning, everyone. The committee will come to order. Were meeting to examine an issue that weve been at a stalemate for for quite some time. What we should do with the used nuclear fuel that is accumulating at our Nations Nuclear reactors. As a starting point, i think we should recognize that Nuclear Energy is an important part of our countrys electric generation. I believe it is a vital part of our mix. The large reactionors that dot the landscape provide Reliable Energy across our country. Our Nations Nuclear energy is critically important but it faces challenges and one that has impacted it since the first reactors began operation. The Nuclear Waste disposition. Beginning with the passage of the Nuclear Waste policy act in 1982,