All five commissioners of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission were set to appear Wednesday for an oversight hearing before a House subcommittee.
The hearing, “Oversight of NRC: Ensuring Efficient and Predictable Nuclear Safety Regulation for a Prosperous America,” was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Eastern time before the House Energy and Commerce energy, climate and grid security subcommittee. The proceedings were scheduled to stream online at the committee’s website.
The House panel was scheduled to conduct its oversight hearing around the time Commissioner Jeffrey Baran was scheduled for a confirmation vote in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The White House has nominated Baran for another five years on the NRC. The committee and the full Senate must approve the nomination.
According to a hearing memo released Tuesday, the subcommittee planned to question the five commissioners about:
- NRC rulemaking, regulatory, and licensee oversight issues.
- Policy issues associated with licensing advanced nuclear technologies.
- NRC’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2024.
- Management and leadership of the NRC.
The subcommittee is hosting the hearing after its leadership, and the leaders of the full committee, sent a letter to a nuclear industry trade group inviting the industry to provide a wishlist of suggestions for “improving NRC efficiency, management of regulatory costs and fees, public health and safety, staff effectiveness and culture, collaboration with the Department of Energy and international activities.”
The five commissioners last appeared together before Congress in April, during a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. There, Chairman Christopher Hanson got some pointed questions and critiques about NRC staff morale.
