The chairman of the U.S. House subcommittee responsible for funding the Department of Energy had nothing but praise for Aiken and the Savannah River Site when he visited Thursday evening.
Congressman Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., spoke at The Willcox in downtown Aiken as he helped kick off Congressman Joe Wilson's reelection campaign.
Fleischmann chairs the House Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee. The committee is responsible for the budget of the Department of Energy.
Wilson represents South Carolina's Second Congressional District. The district includes Aiken County, Barnwell County and most of the Columbia suburbs. He has represented the district since Dec. 18, 2001.
Fleischmann said Thursday's visit marked his second visit to Aiken.
He said during his last visit he stayed and dined at The Willcox and visited the Department of Energy-owned Savannah River Site.
"I love it [Aiken]," Fleischmann said. "it's a beautiful city... It's friendly. It's warm. It's just a beautiful place."
Fleischmann also said he was impressed with the work at the Savannah River Site.
He specifically mentioned the Savannah River National Laboratory and the efforts to cleanup the nuclear waste generated during the production of plutonium during the Cold War.
The Savannah River National Laboratory provides research and development for the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management. It is the only national lab assigned to perform research and development for the Office of Environmental Management.
"You got a great national lab and the best part about it is it's expanding in scope," Fleischmann said.
The Office of Environmental Management, also known as EM, is the Department of Energy office responsible for cleaning up nuclear waste generated during the production of nuclear weapons during the Cold War.
"Savannah River and its contractors are doing the cleanup in the way that it should be done, really in many ways leading the nation," Fleischmann, who also chairs the House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus, said.
Fleischmann also mentioned the production of tritium.
Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen used to provide additional destructive power in nuclear weapons.
The Savannah River Site produces all of the tritium used in the United States nuclear arsenal. However, the process begins in Tennessee at Watts Bar Nuclear Station – adjacent to Fleischmann's district – where lithium bars are irradiated to begin the production process.
Fleishmann also said the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility will be incredible for Aiken area and the state of South Carolina.
The National Nuclear Security Administration plans to use the plutonium processing facility to produce 50 plutonium pits for nuclear weapons beginning in the mid-2030s.
Thursday's visit, however, was about Wilson's reelection campaign.
Fleischmann, who was elected to Congress in 2010, said Wilson served as a mentor during his first years in Congress. He added he often looks up at the vote board on the House floor to see how Wilson votes before he makes a decision on how to vote.
"I always know if I put up a Y or an N like Joe Wilson, I'm going to be okay," he said.
He added he respected Wilson and Congressman Rick Allen, R-Ga., who represents the Augusta area, for their advocacy for the Savannah River Site and its missions and projects.
Fleischmann also said his first-born son is a graduate of Washington and Lee University – Wilson graduated from the school in 1969 – and Wilson invited his son to get a picture with him.
Fleischmann said he was seeking an eighth term and added he would be campaigning for Republicans from Maine to California because they were needed.
Fleischmann said he was campaigning for Wilson because Wilson mentored him when he was elected to the House in 2010. He added Wilson also frequently visits him to advocate for the funding of the projects and missions at the Savannah River Site.
