mr. chairman , i thank the gentleman for yielding me this time , and i rise in strong support of the energy and water appropriations bill .  first , let me thank and commend chairman hobson and ranking member visclosky for their hard work in crafting a bill that addresses so many complex national energy and water infrastructure needs .  they make a good team .  our bill includes essential funding for energy programs that seek to make our country more efficient and less dependent on traditional fossil fuels and foreign oil .  as a nation , we are facing an energy crisis which does not allow us to put off significant policy changes as to how we can invest our energy infrastructure dollars any longer .  this year , we have made a significant investment in nuclear energy technology .  this energy provides a clean , renewable energy source already capable of providing an alternative source of electricity to fossil fuels .  nuclear energy already provides 20 percent of our nation 's electricity and , in my home state of new jersey , nearly 50 percent of the electrical capacity .  i am also pleased that our subcommittee continues to fund fusion science .  our committee has been a leader in advancing fusion so that some day we will be able to realize the promise of the cleanest of energy sources .  thirty years ago the first power produced in a laboratory from fusion was barely enough to light a small light bulb .  today , our doe labs are capable of creating enough power from fusion to light a small town .  mr. chairman , i credit the gentleman from ohio ( mr. hobson )  and the ranking member for grappling with some tough policy decisions in this bill .  for example , yucca mountain , which is facing delays , this bill includes money , $ 660 million for yucca mountain , in anticipation of a licensing agreement being signed .  this bill also prioritizes the army corps ' work on a number of essential navigation and flood control projects to ensure that such construction projects authorized by congress are actually completed .  but most importantly to me and to the new york-new jersey region , in the army corps ' portfolio , this bill reflects our committee 's continued recognition of the value of our federal investment in the new york-new jersey harbor deepening project .  this project has been recognized as one of five national priorities by the president .  it is not only an issue of national security ; it is an issue of economic security .  the economic return on keeping open our nation 's third largest port to larger container ships is huge .  i note that the army corps itself has listed this deepening project as one of its highest return investments .  i can not overstate the economic importance of the port which is the third largest in the united states .  every day thousands of goods come through the port of new york and new jersey , and through its terminals many other goods are exported to the rest of the world .  those goods and the assets that protect them allow our nation to proceed and keep its economy going .  therefore , i rise in support of the bill and urge other members to do so as well .  