President Joe Biden has nominated Jeff Baran to serve another term on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the White House announced this week.
Baran has been on the five-member Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) since October 2014, after first being nominated by President Barack Obama and then confirmed by the U.S. Senate, according to the Biden administration’s Wednesday press release.
Prior to joining NRC, Baran was staff director for the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy and Environment panel. Baran was a congressional staffer starting around 2003 including a job as counsel on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
A Chicago native, Baran has visited dozens of NRC-licensed sites, including operating and retired power reactors, research reactors, fuel cycle facilities, a low-level waste disposal facility, and facilities using radioactive materials for industrial or medical work, according to his NRC bio. He also traveled to Fukushima Daiichi for a look at the site of the reactor meltdown accident in Japan.
NRC commissioners serve five-year terms. No more than three commissioners may belong to the same political party.
In a statement on Friday, Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Del.), chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, supported Baran’s renomination.
“I look forward to doing my part to advance his nomination without delay,” Carper said of Baran.
The Committee had not scheduled a nomination hearing as of deadline Friday for RadWaste Monitor.
