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We have attended numerous events where Third District Congressman Chuck Fleischmann has spoken during his nearly 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives but his keynote conversation during Thursday’s “Southeast Energy Policy Forum” reached a new level.

Now a “Cardinal” through his role as Chair of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, we had never seen the always energetic Fleischmann seem as comfortable as he appeared to be during the session as he conversed initially with Marianne Wanamaker and later in a Q&A with attendees. She is the Dean of the Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville that sponsored the second annual forum.

The rapid-fire session, lasting nearly an hour, showcased the Congressman as candid, fully engaged with facts and figures, willing to take positions that some in the audience might not agree with, and frequently humorous as he and Wanamaker covered a wide range of areas related to everything from the federal budget to small modular reactors and bipartisanship.

Fleischmann described himself as the “Nuclear Congressman” and noted how the sector today enjoys broad-based, bipartisan support within Congress. That was a point that former Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman noted during his keynote presentation at the event on Wednesday where he also praised Fleischmann for working across the aisle.

On the federal budget for FY25, he said, “We will have a short-term CR (continuing resolution). I want to get the full appropriations bill passed in the lame duck session” that will occur after the election.

Wonder how committed Fleischmann is to nuclear energy?

He co-chairs six Congressional caucuses focused on various aspects of the nuclear matter. Why? “It’s a vehicle to have conversations,” he explained.

“We (the federal government) have to help defray the costs of the first small modular reactor (SMR),” Fleischmann declared. The only approved site is the old Clinch Breeder Reactor location where the Tennessee Valley Authority is evaluating the feasibility of that project.

That led Wanamaker to ask the Congressman what were the most serious impediments to building an SMR in the region, and he responded with two concrete points.

• There has to be a well-defined funding mechanism.
• The Nuclear Regulatory Commission does a good job but the agency is “too slow (and) too lethargic,” and that needs to change.

On the point about bipartisanship, Fleischmann said, “We don’t have to always agree with each other” to work together.

Regarding America’s staggering deficit, he explained that less than 25 percent of the federal budget – the items that his subcommittee can affect – are discretionary. So, the question becomes the way to come up with a sustainable model.

“When presented with the facts, I trust the American people to make the right decisions,” he said.

Look for Monday’s edition where we will spotlight some of the other sessions on the second day of the event, including several panels featuring Knoxvillians.

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