Democratic leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee believe the Department of Energy may be illegally turning the nation’s chief nuclear safety agency into a booster for the industry.
In a letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Wednesday, the Democrats “demanded” information on numerous reported DOE actions at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that could be undermining the agency’s independence and safety-first directive.
“Congress split the functions between two agencies and built a firewall between them in part to increase public confidence in the safety of the nuclear industry,” the Democrats, led by full committee ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), wrote.
They continued: “We are deeply concerned that recent actions have undermined this longstanding relationship between DOE and NRC and may in the long run undermine public confidence in nuclear energy,” Pallone, Castor and DeGette wrote in their letter to Wright.
