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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3657 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3657

  To clarify the authority of the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory 
 Commission to act on behalf of the Commission during emergencies, and 
                          for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 13, 2011

     Mr. Terry (for himself, Mr. Barton of Texas, and Mr. Burgess) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To clarify the authority of the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory 
 Commission to act on behalf of the Commission during emergencies, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Nuclear Emergency Re-establishment 
of Obligations (NERO) Act''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY AUTHORITY OF CHAIRMAN.

    (a) In General.--The Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
may not exercise emergency authority to make decisions or take actions 
otherwise reserved for the full Commission unless the Chairman has 
declared an emergency based on--
            (1) an imminent safety threat to a facility or materials 
        licensed or regulated by the Commission; or
            (2) a determination by the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
        the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Transportation, the 
        Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Director 
        of the Central Intelligence Agency, or the Director of National 
        Intelligence that a security incident exists that poses an 
        imminent threat to a facility or materials licensed or 
        regulated by the Commission.
    (b) Additional Requirements.--If the Chairman declares an emergency 
under subsection (a)--
            (1) the Chairman shall within 1 hour notify each member of 
        the Commission and appropriate Commission staff offices, and 
        within 4 days shall notify the Congress, of--
                    (A) the declaration, including specific reference 
                to the emergency on which the declaration is based; and
                    (B) all actions and recommendations made under the 
                emergency authority;
            (2) the Chairman shall ensure that all members of the 
        Commission are provided timely and current access to all 
        records and information, and all Commission staff involved, 
        relating to actions taken during the emergency;
            (3) to the extent practicable, the Chairman shall consult 
        with the full Commission on any actions to be taken under the 
        emergency;
            (4) the Chairman shall terminate the emergency period not 
        later than the termination of the threat or determination on 
        which the emergency declaration is based under subsection (a);
            (5) not later than 1 day after the termination of the 
        emergency, the Chairman shall notify each member of the 
        Commission, and notify the Congress, of such termination; and
            (6) not later than 10 days after the termination of the 
        emergency, the Chairman shall submit a complete report to the 
        Commission on the actions taken during the emergency.
    (c) Commission Procedures.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall 
revise its procedures to comply with the requirements of this section. 
Such revision shall define the roles of the Commissioners during an 
emergency, specifying complete--
            (1) access to records and information relating to actions 
        taken during the emergency;
            (2) access to Commission staff involved in the management 
        of the emergency;
            (3) access to the location or locations where decisions are 
        made during the emergency; and
            (4) participation in decisions that affect Commission 
        actions and policies beyond the response to a particular 
        emergency.

SEC. 3. CERTIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS TRANSMITTED TO CONGRESS.

    A letter or other document transmitted by the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, on behalf of the full Commission, to a member of Congress 
in his or her capacity as chairman or ranking minority member of a 
Committee of Congress, shall include a certification that the letter or 
document is being sent to both the Chairman and ranking minority member 
of that Committee in accordance with published procedures of the 
Commission.

SEC. 4. APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSION OFFICERS.

    All appointments by the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission of the officers of the Commission shall be subject to 
approval by the full Commission, and service as such an officer shall 
be dependent on a vote of affirmation by the full Commission at least 
once every 2 years.

SEC. 5. TIME LIMITS FOR COMMISSION REVIEW OF BRIEFS REQUESTED.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), if the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission issues an order requesting parties to 
file briefs relating to whether the Commission should review, uphold, 
or overturn a decision by the Licensing Board--
            (1) the Commission shall vote on the matter not later than 
        40 days after receipt of such briefs; and
            (2) not later than 10 days after such vote, the Commission 
        shall publish its decision, including, except in the case of 
        adjudicatory matters, the votes of each of the members of the 
        Commission.
    (b) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to orders requesting 
parties to file briefs relating to revocation of a previously issued 
license.

SEC. 6. ALLEGATIONS OF WRONGDOING.

    (a) Referral to Inspector General.--Not later than 90 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
shall revise its procedures to ensure that any allegation of wrongdoing 
on the part of the Chairman of the Commission is referred to the 
Inspector General of the Commission.
    (b) Supervision of Inspector General.--During the pendency of any 
investigation by the Inspector General of the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission with respect to an allegation described in subsection (a), 
the responsibility for supervising the Inspector General shall be 
delegated to a member of the Commission other than the Chairman.

SEC. 7. APPROVAL OF COMMISSIONER TRAVEL.

    The Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall authorize 
all domestic and international travel requested by other members of the 
Commission for official business unless the Chairman submits a notice 
of disapproval to the full Commission specifying the basis for the 
disapproval. The notice of disapproval shall be submitted within 5 days 
after the travel is requested or the travel shall be deemed approved.

SEC. 8. BUDGET REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT.

    No budget or budget revision shall be adopted for the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission unless each member of the Commission has been 
given an opportunity to--
            (1) participate in the development of such budget or 
        revision after being provided access to all relevant 
        information used in such development; and
            (2) vote on the approval of such budget or revision.
                                 <all>
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