neica is an important step in maintaining the united states leadership in nuclear energy. it will enable the private sector and our national labs to work together to create cutting edge achievements in nuclear science. neica encourages the smartest, most creative and innovative minds in nuclear science to partner together to move the industry forward. this is a very exciting piece of legislation and i look forward to working with my congressional colleagues to help the nuclear energy thrive today and prepare for the future. with that, thank you, mr. president. i yield my time. mr. whitehouse: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, it has been the senator from idaho whose leadership has driven this forward more than anything else and i want to express my great appreciation to him to be able to work with him and accomplish this success. like senator crapo, i want to recognize our colleagues in this effort, senators risch, booker, durbin, and murkowski. i want to particularly thank senator murkowski because she is t