Hearings to examine the nominations of Lee Beaman, of Tennessee, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority, and Douglas Weaver, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Committee on Environment and Public Works
2025-12-03
Source: Congress.gov
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Transcript
Calling this hearing to order and good morning and thank everybody for being here. Today we will consider the nominations of Douglas Weaver to serve as a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Lee Beeman to be a member of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors. First, we will hear from Mr. Weaver. This is the third NRC nomination hearing since June and the fifth NRC nominee to come before the EPW committee in the last 18 months. Confirming Mr. Weaver to the NRC will return the commission to its full complement of five members as Congress had designed. A full slate of commissioners is best suited for the agency to carry out its business to the full extent of the law and make important and necessary decisions on the future of nuclear power generation in the United States. These decisions include selecting experienced, key permanent career leaders to fill the NRC's most important positions and approving an updated organizational structure to more efficiently fulfill its obligations. Selecting highly qualified leaders and modernizing its organizational structure will enable the Commission and the staff to fully confront the challenging and vital work that is expected and needed at the NRC. The NRC fills a crucial position in delivering on a shared bipartisan agenda to deploy more nuclear energy and to do so quickly and safely. To deliver on this agenda, the Commission must implement its statutory obligations, including those in the Advance Act, respond to President Trump's executive orders, and accomplish this while continuing to efficiently carrying out its licensing duties. The role of nuclear technology in our energy future will be set by the actions taken by the NRC today. These actions must not be compromised, either procedurally or substantively, by taking shortcuts or undercutting the NRC's principles of good regulation. Because of the consequential impacts of NRC's ongoing work, the commission must ensure the agency's decisions are clear, workable, and enduring.
Doug Weaver's comprehensive expertise with nuclear provides him with the perspective to effectively meet this challenge. Mr. Weaver began his career in the Navy, serving for nine years in active duty in the Nuclear Navy and then 12 years in the Navy Reserve. During his time serving our country, he has received multiple medals in recognition of his service and assisted in our nation's response to the 9-11 attacks at the Pentagon. After leaving active duty, Mr. Weaver spent nearly 20 years as an NRC staffer including as Deputy Chief of Staff for Chairman Dale Klein. He departed the NRC to work for leading nuclear supply chain companies and was directly involved in regulatory compliance as an NRC licensee. I believe Doug Weaver's service in the nuclear Navy, experience as an NRC staff member, and work in the private sector make him well-rounded and well-qualified to be confirmed as an NRC commissioner. I will say, as a point of personal privilege, his in-laws are my constituents and very good friends. So, there's that. We will also consider the nomination to fill a vacancy on the TVA Board of Directors. In 1933, Congress passed the Tennessee Valley Authority to establish the TVA as a federally owned public utility to serve the people of the Tennessee Valley across seven southeastern states.
providing electricity, managing the Tennessee River system, and assisting with economic development efforts. Recently, this committee favorably reported four nominees to be members of the TVA Board of Directors. Once confirmed, those four nominees will provide the Board with the required quorum to conduct all business necessary for the TVA to fully function.
And I cannot help but wonder if her resignation was influenced by the Department of Energy and DOGI, as I describe it, Interference at NRC and the ensuing turmoil. This is the third hearing for an NRC nominee this year and the second hearing to fill an NRC slot that was prematurely vacated. I will repeat the warning that I relayed to Chairman Wright and now Commissioner Nia. The Trump administration's assault on NRC's independence threatens the stability and reputation of the agency. And that threatens the viability of the US nuclear industry. Our nuclear industry's success depends upon the credibility of its regulator. That credibility is clearly in jeopardy, as I have pointed out in all of these nominations. In March 1975, NRC's first chairman, Bill Anders, testified before the Senate Joint Committee on Atomic Energy that, and I'm quoting him here, public confidence will follow only if our performance both serves and is perceived to serve the public interest. and is not prejudiced either for or against the industry we regulate. Instead, the Department of Energy has intruded across the NRC's congressionally mandated separation from DOE and DOGIE has inserted at NRC 10 unqualified DOGIE staffers.
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