City representatives visit Washington, D.C.

City representatives traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with members of the Idaho congressional delegation to discuss issues affecting eastern Idaho.

They also met with representatives from the Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

One of the main topics that was discussed at Wednesday’s meeting was how well the environmental management clean-up mission is operating.

Mayor of Idaho Falls Rebecca Casper said it turns out some of the things we do here in Idaho are valued nationally and internationally.

“We’ve created a facility that does good work, we know this is a national asset. We can process waste more efficiently and save the country more money,” Casper said.

Casper also touched upon how important nuclear energy is and how Idaho National Laboratory is playing a key role.

“Sen. Mike Crapo sponsored a bill that was passed 87 to 4, which is extremely unmeasurable bipartisan support,” Casper said.

The bill would increase nuclear research efforts at the Idaho National Laboratory and other national labs through new partnerships between the public and private sectors.

Casper also said, “It’s actually worth spending a little bit of resource on flights to send city leaders to Washington, D.C., because our support matters in terms of keeping projects and programs viable.”

She also explained how these projects and programs that employ eastern Idaho citizens.

“We want to make sure that they are vibrant and robust, so that families can continue to thrive here in Idaho on the economy that is created be all the programs,” Casper said.