Contact: Matt Dempsey 202-224-9797 matt_dempsey@epw.senate.gov

Inhofe Statement on Jaczko Becoming New NRC Chairman

WASHINGTON, D.C. -U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, today issued the following statement on Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner (NRC) Gregory B. Jaczko, designated today by President Obama to be the new chairman of the NRC. Chairman Jaczko was sworn in as a Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Jan. 21, 2005. The designation of chairman of NRC does not require Senate confirmation.

"I look forward to working closely with him in his new role as chairman of the NRC," Senator Inhofe said. "Nuclear energy must continue to play an increasingly important role in our nation's domestic energy supply. As we work together toward that goal, I appreciate Chairman Jaczko's commitment to transparency and improving public communication, something I very much agree with.

"Also, I believe the Reactor Oversight Process has worked well, so I am very interested to learn about Chairman Jaczko's suggestions for changing it.  Any potential changes to performance indicators should avoid injecting unnecessary instability into the process."

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