The Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy and the Subcommittee on Energy and Power have postponed the joint hearing titled “NRC Policy and Governance Oversight" scheduled for Thursday, May 31, 2012. The new date and time of the hearing is still to be determined. The hearing was postponed in light of recent developments that the nominations of Allison Macfarlane and Kristine Svinicki will be swiftly considered by the Senate.
“Given the swift movement on nominations and the apparent wind down of Chairman Jaczko’s current tenure at NRC, we’ve decided to pause until there is more clarity on the chairmanship of the NRC. We welcome the recent signals coming from the White House and Senate that the re-nomination of Kristine Svinicki and the closeout of the Jaczko era will be fast tracked. The committee looks forward to rescheduling the hearing when the commission is whole with a new chairman and four commissioners seated, which will allow for a thoughtful discussion on the future of the NRC and examining lessons learned," said Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Environment and the Economy Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL), and Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-KY).
Since the start of the 112th Congress, the Energy and Commerce Committee has been actively conducting oversight of the NRC, with a focus on the politicization of the commission and the actions and influence of Chairman Jaczko. The Energy and Commerce Committee will continue its oversight, including a full review of the NRC IG’s pending report, to assist in understanding the breakdown in collegiality at the commission and to determine any steps that need to be taken to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself.
