Washington, D.C.– U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement on the Senate floor Thursday regarding the need to re-confirm nuclear safety expert Kristine Svinicki to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission:

“Yesterday I came to the floor to call attention to a woman named Kristine Svinicki, a widely-respected nuclear engineer who sits on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal agency charged with ensuring the safety of our nation’s nuclear power plants.

“At the moment, Commissioner Svinicki is in Africa, sharing her expertise on nuclear safety at the request of the Obama Administration — which shouldn’t surprise anybody, since she’s one of the world’s leading experts on the topic, and since President Obama’s own chief of staff signed a letter a few months ago expressing the administration’s confidence in her commitment to the mission of the NRC and in her ability to fulfill it.

“I have the letter. It’s dated December 12. I’d like to submit it for the record.

“What is surprising is that despite all this, despite her expertise, despite the administration’s own stated support for her work, she has yet to be re-nominated. The White House alone has the power to re-nominate. For some reason they haven’t.

“Look: the only possible reason for this delay is the fact that she had the courage to blow the whistle on the Commission’s chairman, Gregory Jazcko, a guy whose temper and condescension toward subordinates — particularly women — nearly cost him his job.

“Let’s be clear about this: the only reason we’re even talking about Kristine Svinicki right now is because she had the courage to stand up to a hostile work environment, and to the bully who was responsible for it.

“She should be applauded for that, not hung out to dry.

“Yet that’s precisely what’s been happening here. Commissioner Svinicki is one of the world’s leading experts on nuclear safety. She was confirmed to her current term without a single dissenting vote. She enjoys the respect of her colleagues, and, as the letter I just cited shows, of the Obama administration as well. Her re-nomination papers were completed more than a year ago, as was the FBI report that nominees have to complete ahead of being confirmed.

“If this nomination continues to be held up — after she had the courage to take a stand — it will send a chill up the spine of every whistle blower in Washington.

“Commissioner Svinicki spoke out against a guy that even Democrat commissioners say bullied employees and intimidated female workers. She did the right thing in raising the alarm. She shouldn’t pay a price for it.
 
“The White House says it likes the job she’s doing. They just sent her to Africa to give a keynote address on nuclear safety. Yet for over a year there’s been silence. It’s my hope they’re not rewarding abusive behavior by silencing someone who had the courage to speak out on it.

“There is no reason for this re-nomination and re-confirmation to wait another day. If Democrats have a problem with Commissioner Svinicki, let’s debate it.

“So this morning, I renew my call for the White House to send this nomination over immediately and for the Senate to act quickly to get Commissioner Svinicki re-confirmed. The White House said just yesterday there should be no interruption in service on the Commission.

“Let’s get this done.”