The House Subcommittees on Environment and the Economy and on Energy and Power will call on new Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Allison Macfarlane and the four other commissioners to testify at a joint hearing on NRC policy and government oversight, set for July 24. Macfarlane was sworn in July 9 to complete the final year of former chairman Gregory Jaczko’s term, after he abruptly resigned May 21 following months of criticism about his abusive management style. “The Energy and Commerce Committee has been actively conducting oversight of the NRC with a focus on how the actions of former NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko politicized the Commission, undermining its ability to effectively execute its safety and licensing mission,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Environment and the Economy Subcommittee Chairman John Shimkus (R-Ill.), and Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) said in a statement released yesterday. “Moving forward, the committee will continue its oversight efforts to determine any steps that need to be taken to restore the commission’s integrity and make sure history doesn’t repeat itself.”
House lawmakers will question the commissioners “about NRC procedures and policy decisions impacting America’s nuclear safety,” according to a press release sent yesterday. “We welcome Dr. Macfarlane to her new position and are glad to have this opportunity to hear from her,” lawmakers wrote in the statement. “The agency is still suffering the consequences of Chairman Jaczko’s controversial tenure, and it is our hope that Dr. Macfarlane will be successful in repairing the agency’s credibility and returning its focus to a mission of safety.”
Meanwhile, representatives from the Nuclear Energy Institute decided to pull out of a party for Jaczko, thrown last night by Senate staffers who worked with the former chairman when he was an aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), as the event had “evolved into a political fundraiser,” NEI spokesman John Keeley told RW Monitor yesterday. “The initial invitation was for a send-off for the chairman. We were invited, as were a number of industry folks, political and government officials … and then we were informed in the last 24 hours that it was also a fundraiser for the former chairman’s legal defense,” Keeley said.