Lance Moore
WC Monitor
7/24/2015
The Senate has put an indefinite hold on the confirmations of former Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Vice Chair Jessie Roberson to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and two other nominations for the DNFSB . These delays mean both the NRC and the DNFSB must await Senate action on the nominations before they can fully function and continue operations. “Ms. Roberson must be confirmed by the Senate to be seated at the NRC. Two current Presidential nominees to the DNFSB also must be confirmed by the Senate. For complete functionality, the Board must have a minimum of three confirmed Board Members, this is currently the situation,” said Andrew Thibadeau via email, spokesman of the DNFSB. “The Agency eagerly awaits the confirmation of the current nominees which would fill all five Board members slots while the Nomination of Ms. Roberson is undergoing consideration by the Senate.”
These nominations falling down the pecking order of importance can be attributed to the flood of recent nominations in need of Senate confirmation, as they are lower in the chain of command than other positions. The Senate Armed Services Committee “is in the middle of conference on the National Defense Authorization Act while also moving through nominations for several senior military officers, including the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and new service chiefs for the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps,” said committee spokesman Dustin Walker via email. “At this time, the Committee does not yet have a timeline for the nominations.”
As the respective regulator of nuclear and power plants and other nuclear materials and the top advisor to the president and secretary of energy regarding public health and safety issues at DOE defense nuclear facilities, the NRC and DNFSB need these nominations to be confirmed as soon as possible. Complete functionality for both departments is at a standstill, as Roberson and the board nominees cannot assume their roles and responsibilities unless nominations are approved by the Senate. The relationship between the DNFSB and the DOE is particularly affected because they share a common working goal of ensuring adequate protection of public and worker health and safety and the environment at defense nuclear facilities. As stated by the DNFSB, the DOE’s executive management with the Board is essential for resolving safety issues as a partner sharing a common working goal with both the Board and the NRC, the latter of which being responsible for licensing and regulating the civilian use of radioactive materials to protect public health and safety for workers.
