Staff Reports
NS&D Monitor
8/7/2015
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Joyce Connery and Joseph Hamilton as members of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). Connery is leaving her post as director of nuclear energy policy within the National Security Council (NSC) Office of International Economics, a position she has held since 2012. Hamilton has since 2013 been a consultant to the nuclear industry.
Both nominations were positively reported by the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this week before heading on for approval by the full Senate. These nominations were put on indefinite hold last month, which delayed current DNFSB Vice Chair Jessie Roberson’s planned move to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Roberson’s nomination to the NRC is pending approval by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, but her departure from the DNFSB would have put the board below the minimum three members legally required for it to function. With the approval of both Connery and Hamilton, that barrier to Roberson’s NRC nomination is resolved.
The DNFSB will now have four of a maximum five members. Connery’s term expires on Oct. 18, 2019, while Hamilton’s term expires on Oct. 18, 2016.
