The National Nuclear Security Administration cold-shouldered Saudi Arabia recently when the Kingdom sought U.S. help establishing a civilian nuclear power industry, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said in a hearing Wednesday.
“I believe it’s imperative that we have that relationship with Saudi,” Manchin told the heads of the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I’m understanding that they reached out and they’ve not only asked you to help but also oversee the program and have not got a positive or got any answer from you all.”
A spokesperson for the Senate Armed Services Committee did not immediately respond to queries seeking details about the exchanges between Saudi and U.S. officials that Manchin described in the hearing.
But during the hearing, Jill Hruby, administrator of the NNSA, took issue with Manchin’s characterization of recent conversations about nuclear power with the Kingdom.
“I don’t think that’s an accurate statement,” Hruby said “We are asking the Saudis to be consistent with nonproliferation standards that we have for every other country that we work with on civil nuclear power and they’ve been avoiding making those commitments.”
Hruby said that both she and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm had spoken to “people, the leaders in Saudi Arabia about their civil nuclear program.”
Last week, Hruby said, she spoke with Michael Ratney, the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, about the nuclear-power issue.
Spokespersons for Granholm’s office and the NNSA did not immediately reply to requests for comments during the hearing.
