Energy and Water Development and Relaed Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. As a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee which has jurisdiction over the NRC, our committee has taken a close look at the regulatory priorities and resource needs of the commission.

The Energy and Power Subcommittee oversees nuclear energy, and the Environment and Economy Subcommittee has oversight on nuclear waste. I serve on both subcommittees.

In both committee and subcommittees, we have held hearings in recent years with the commissioners on the NRC, as well as other experts and stakeholders. In these hearings, we have learned important facts such as, while the Nation's fleet of nuclear reactors continues to operate safely, the evidence clearly demonstrates that the NRC's budget exceeds what is reasonably necessary in light of current regulatory and licensing needs. We have further learned that--and the NRC Chairman recently acknowledged--the NRC budget needs to be right-sized to some degree.

We have also focused on the fact that, unlike most other Federal agencies, 90 percent of the NRC's budget is recovered through fees on nuclear licensees, which are eventually paid through electric rates.

This means that an outsized NRC budget is actually paid for by the American people, both through their taxes and their electric rates. We have also seen recent closures of nuclear power plants in the United States and fewer new plants coming online than anticipated a decade ago. In fact, even though the number of nuclear plants is currently decreasing, the NRC budget has increased substantially compared to 10 years ago.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the Appropriations Committee and the chairman for acting to provide a level of appropriations for the NRC that is appropriate under the circumstances. This budget gives the NRC all it needs to ensure the safe operation of the Nation's nuclear fleet without asking taxpayers and electricity ratepayers to pay more than is necessary.

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