Lawmakers push NRC members on implementing new law

By Nico Portuondo | 07/24/2024 06:28 AM EDT

Members of both parties are already thinking about other bills that could get momentum.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair Christopher Hanson.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair Chris Hanson appears before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security on Tuesday. On the screen is subcommittee Chair Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.). Francis Chung/POLITICO

House lawmakers called up Nuclear Regulatory Commission members to Capitol Hill on Tuesday after passage of landmark legislation to secure the development of new reactors.

A hearing of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security was supposed to be about the NRC’s budget, but lawmakers were almost entirely focused on the ADVANCE Act.

All four sitting commissioners expressed broad support for the law and the impact it will have on the agency, but they offered few specifics about implementation.

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Instead, NRC members suggested the law’s most immediate impact would be to reinforce Congress’ wish for the agency to be more efficient.

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