Senate Hearing on 2018 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Budget

• •The proposed fiscal year 2018 budget for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is $952 million.
• •The budget represents a $12 million increase over the fiscal year 2017 budget.
• •$814 million of the NRC budget is funded through fees paid by licensed utilities and facilities.
• •The budget includes $30 million to restart the review of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository license application.
• •The NRC oversees 99 commercial nuclear reactors in the United States.
• •Nuclear power currently provides 20 percent of the nation's electricity and over 60 percent of its carbon-free electricity.
• •The subcommittee plans to hold four budget hearings during the month of June 2017.
• •The hearing identified four priority areas: nuclear waste disposal, license extensions for existing reactors, licensing of advanced/modular reactors, and operational efficiency.

The hearing sets the stage for federal funding of nuclear safety oversight and determines the government's approach to managing nuclear waste, which impacts the operational viability of the nation's 99 commercial nuclear reactors.

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.