I am particularly interested in hearing from Mr. Richard Meserve, the nominee for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. As a supporter of nuclear power, I believe that a strong NRC is essential to maintaining public confidence in the industry. In recent years I have worked closely with the Commission to address some serious concerns that arose after problems at the Millstone nuclear plants in Connecticut. I was very pleased at the efforts that former Commissioner Dr. Shirley Jackson made to conduct extensive safety reviews, and to oversee the plants in preparation for a restart this year. The NRC has played a very important role in ensuring public health and safety protections are in place at nuclear facilities in my state and around the country.
I will also be interested to hear Mr. Meserve's views regarding the NRC's efforts to move toward risk-informed regulation. Certainly it seems to make sense to prioritize safety concerns, and to effectively leverage limited resources. However, I also view it as essential that the NRC respond to some issues raised by a recent GAO report, which found that the NRC needs to develop more specifics on how the Commission will define and implement risk-informed regulation, and improve the base of knowledge regarding the condition of individual plant conditions and modifications. It is essential to ensure that information sharing in the area of safety does not suffer as we move to a competitive nuclear industry.
I have several questions I would like to ask the Mr. Meserve in preparation for his pending nomination, and hope that, if confirmed, Mr. Meserve will continue the strong leadership that was shown by his predecessor.
Again, I look forward to hearing from all the nominees this morning. Thank you.