Good Energy Collective backs Baran for third NRC term

June 30, 2023, 12:03PMNuclear News
Jeff Baran (Photo: NRC)

Jeff Baran, who has been renominated for another five-year term on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has received a vote of confidence from a progressive policy research organization. On June 14, the same day his renomination was reported favorably out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in a 10–9 vote, the organization—Good Energy Collective—released a statement from its deputy director, Jackie Toth, in praise of the commissioner.

“We’re pleased that the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has advanced, to the full Senate, Commissioner Baran’s nomination for another term on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” said Toth. “Commissioner Baran understands the key role that nuclear energy plays in reducing climate pollution, and he knows that the NRC needs a plan for how to license new reactors in a safe and timely way. . . . [On June 9] he issued a memorandum to his fellow commissioners to that exact effect. We’re confident that Commissioner Baran would continue to be an effective regulator of our nation’s nuclear materials and urge Senate leadership to move quickly on a confirmation vote on his nomination.”

The Good Energy Collective’s endorsement of Baran is a voice of support in what has become a tense battle for reconfirmation. Earlier this month, a coalition of pronuclear organizations sent a EPW Committee leaders expressing their concerns regarding the renomination of Baran for a third term on the NRC. Baran’s voting record, the coalition wrote, “shows a strong preference for overly burdensome regulations that hinder the deployment of new nuclear energy.”


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