February 9, 2016 

The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Clean Air 

 and Nuclear Safety 

Committee on Environment and Public Works 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Madam Chairwoman: 

Enclosed is the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 

Congressional Budget Justification. This Congressional Budget Justification reflects the NRC’s 

continued focus on accomplishing its mission, achieving resource savings and improving the 

agency’s efficiency and effectiveness, while adapting to a dynamic environment. 

Between FY 2001 and FY 2010, the NRC grew significantly to enhance security and 

incident response and prepare for the projected growth in the use of nuclear power in the United 

States. The level of forecasted nuclear power growth in the nation did not fully occur due to 

changes in the energy industry, resulting in fewer applications for new nuclear power plants and 

fuel cycle facilities, and earlier decommissioning of some existing plants. Consistent with the 

decline in workload, agency resources, excluding the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), 

have decreased approximately 8 percent from $1.043.9 million, including 3,741.7 full-time 

equivalents (FTE), to $970.2 million, including 3,462 FTE, between the FY 2014 enacted budget 

and the FY 2017 Congressional Budget Justification. This represents a decrease of 

$73.7 million, including 279.7 FTE. The NRC’s FY 2017 budget provides $5 million for activities 

related to advanced nuclear reactor technologies that is excluded from the Omnibus Budget 

Reconciliation Act of 1990 fee recovery requirement to assess and collect user fees from NRC 

licensees and certificate holders. 

The NRC recognizes the changing environment in the nuclear industry and remains 

committed to using resources effectively and efficiently. To that end, the NRC has initiated a 

transformation initiative, Project Aim, which involves taking a close look at the work we do and 

how we do it, evaluating our organizational structure, and developing a strategic workforce plan 

to ensure we have the right people in the right place at the right time doing the right work. In 

June 2015, the Commission directed actions to further improve the agency’s efficiency in its 

internal processes and reduce corporate support requirements. A key action involves 

rebaselining the agency’s workload. This involves reviewing the agency’s current and projected 

workload and developing a list of lower priority activities that can either be shed or performed 

with fewer resources. As a result of this analysis, the NRC’s FY 2017 budget includes 

significant savings. The agency continues to review and prioritize its work, this process will 

result in further efficiencies gained and resources saved. 
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Despite a declining budget and staffing levels, the FY 2017 budget fully supports the 

safety and security of the NRC programs, and the agency’s primary focus continues to be 

protecting public health and ensuring the long-term safety of nuclear materials and facilities. 

 Sincerely, 

 /RA/ 

 Stephen G. Burns 

Enclosure: 

As stated 

cc: Senator Thomas Carper 

 
Identical letters sent to: 

The Honorable Shelley Moore Captio 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Clean Air 

 and Nuclear Safety 

Committee on Environment and Public 

 Works 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

cc: Senator Thomas Carper 

The Honorable James Inhofe 

Chairman, Committee on Environment 

 and Public Works 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

cc: Senator Barbara Boxer 

The Honorable Fred Upton 

Chairman, Committee on Energy 

 and Commerce 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. 

The Honorable Ed Whitfield 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy and 

 Power 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Bobby L. Rush 

The Honorable John Shimkus 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Environment 

 and the Economy 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Paul Tonko 

The Honorable Mike Simpson 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy 

 and Water Development 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Marcy Kaptur 

The Honorable Lamar Alexander 

Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy 

 and Water Development 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

cc: Senator Dianne Feinstein 

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chairman, Committee on Homeland 

Security and Governmental Affairs 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

cc: Senator Thomas Carper 

The Honorable Michael McCaul 

Chairman, Committee on Homeland 

 Security 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Bennie Thompson 

The Honorable Mike Enzi 

Chairman, Committee on the Budget 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

cc: Senator Bernie Sanders 

The Honorable Tom Price 

Chairman, Committee on the Budget 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Chris Van Hollen, Jr. 

The Honorable Thad Cochran 

Chairman, Committee on Appropriations 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

cc: Senator Barbara Mikulski 

The Honorable Harold Rogers 

Chairman, Committee on Appropriations 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Nita Lowey 
- 2 - 

The Honorable Edward R. Royce 

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Eliot Engel 

The Honorable Lisa Murkowski 

Chairman, Committee on Energy 

 and Natural Resources 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

cc: Senator Maria Cantwell 

The Honorable Jason Chaffetz 

Chairman, Committee on Oversight 

 and Government Reform 

United States House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

cc: Representative Elijah Cummings 

The Honorable Paul D. Ryan 

Speaker of the House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

The Honorable Shaun Donovan 

Director, Office of Management and Budget 

Washington, DC 20503 

cc: Benton Arnett 

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr. 

President of the United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Bob Corker 

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

cc: Senator Ben Cardin