NEI strongly supports new NRC budget
The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) applauded the U.S. House Appropriations Committee on Thursday for drafting a new, more cost-effective and operationally efficient 2017 fiscal budget for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
The draft budget was intended to increase NRC’s operational efficiency while decreasing the number of reactors in operation and cutting costs. The new budget provides the agency with $936 million, $54 million lower than the current budget. The Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development also proposed a budget for the U.S. Department of Energy and NRC totaling $37.4 billion.
“The Nuclear Energy Institute appreciates the recognition by the House Appropriations Committee that the NRC’s budget and regulatory requirements have grown dramatically in the last decade, during a time when the number of licensees it regulates has declined,” NEI Senior VP of Governmental Affairs Alex Flint said. “The committee has rightly directed the NRC to respond to these changes by finding savings and becoming more effective and efficient…The fact is that nuclear energy facilities are operating at record-high levels of safety and reliability, and the agency could be more aggressive and still not diminish its safety mission.”
The full committee will discuss the budget legislation this week. The committee will also discuss several other proposals, including $1 billion in funding for nuclear energy research and development and $170 million for the development of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.
