I 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nuclear Emergency 

5 Re-establishment of Obligations (NERO) Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EMERGENCY AUTHORITY OF CHAIRMAN. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Chairman of the Nuclear 

8 Regulatory Commission may not exercise emergency au9 thority to make decisions or take actions otherwise reVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:39 Dec 20, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3657.IH H3657

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1 served for the full Commission unless the Chairman has 

2 declared an emergency based on— 

3 (1) an imminent safety threat to a facility or 

4 materials licensed or regulated by the Commission; 

5 or 

6 (2) a determination by the Secretary of Home7 land Security, the Secretary of Energy, the Sec8 retary of Transportation, the Director of the Federal 

9 Bureau of Investigation, the Director of the Central 

10 Intelligence Agency, or the Director of National In11 telligence that a security incident exists that poses 

12 an imminent threat to a facility or materials licensed 

13 or regulated by the Commission. 

14 (b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—If the Chairman 

15 declares an emergency under subsection (a)— 

16 (1) the Chairman shall within 1 hour notify 

17 each member of the Commission and appropriate 

18 Commission staff offices, and within 4 days shall no19 tify the Congress, of— 

20 (A) the declaration, including specific ref21 erence to the emergency on which the declara22 tion is based; and 

23 (B) all actions and recommendations made 

24 under the emergency authority; 


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1 (2) the Chairman shall ensure that all members 

2 of the Commission are provided timely and current 

3 access to all records and information, and all Com4 mission staff involved, relating to actions taken dur5 ing the emergency; 

6 (3) to the extent practicable, the Chairman 

7 shall consult with the full Commission on any ac8 tions to be taken under the emergency; 

9 (4) the Chairman shall terminate the emer10 gency period not later than the termination of the 

11 threat or determination on which the emergency dec12 laration is based under subsection (a); 

13 (5) not later than 1 day after the termination 

14 of the emergency, the Chairman shall notify each 

15 member of the Commission, and notify the Congress, 

16 of such termination; and 

17 (6) not later than 10 days after the termination 

18 of the emergency, the Chairman shall submit a com19 plete report to the Commission on the actions taken 

20 during the emergency. 

21 (c) COMMISSION PROCEDURES.—Not later than 90 

22 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Nuclear 

23 Regulatory Commission shall revise its procedures to com24 ply with the requirements of this section. Such revision 


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1 shall define the roles of the Commissioners during an 

2 emergency, specifying complete— 

3 (1) access to records and information relating 

4 to actions taken during the emergency; 

5 (2) access to Commission staff involved in the 

6 management of the emergency; 

7 (3) access to the location or locations where de8 cisions are made during the emergency; and 

9 (4) participation in decisions that affect Com10 mission actions and policies beyond the response to 

11 a particular emergency. 

12 SEC. 3. CERTIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS TRANSMITTED TO 

13 CONGRESS. 

14 A letter or other document transmitted by the Nu15 clear Regulatory Commission, on behalf of the full Com16 mission, to a member of Congress in his or her capacity 

17 as chairman or ranking minority member of a Committee 

18 of Congress, shall include a certification that the letter 

19 or document is being sent to both the Chairman and rank20 ing minority member of that Committee in accordance 

21 with published procedures of the Commission. 

22 SEC. 4. APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSION OFFICERS. 

23 All appointments by the Chairman of the Nuclear 

24 Regulatory Commission of the officers of the Commission 

25 shall be subject to approval by the full Commission, and 


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1 service as such an officer shall be dependent on a vote 

2 of affirmation by the full Commission at least once every 

3 2 years. 

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

5 REQUESTED. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

7 (b), if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issues an order 

8 requesting parties to file briefs relating to whether the 

9 Commission should review, uphold, or overturn a decision 

10 by the Licensing Board— 

11 (1) the Commission shall vote on the matter not 

12 later than 40 days after receipt of such briefs; and 

13 (2) not later than 10 days after such vote, the 

14 Commission shall publish its decision, including, ex15 cept in the case of adjudicatory matters, the votes 

16 of each of the members of the Commission. 

17 (b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 

18 orders requesting parties to file briefs relating to revoca19 tion of a previously issued license. 

20 SEC. 6. ALLEGATIONS OF WRONGDOING. 

21 (a) REFERRAL TO INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Not later 

22 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

23 Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall revise its procedures 

24 to ensure that any allegation of wrongdoing on the part 


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1 of the Chairman of the Commission is referred to the In2 spector General of the Commission. 

3 (b) SUPERVISION OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.—During 

4 the pendency of any investigation by the Inspector General 

5 of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with respect to an 

6 allegation described in subsection (a), the responsibility 

7 for supervising the Inspector General shall be delegated 

8 to a member of the Commission other than the Chairman. 

9 SEC. 7. APPROVAL OF COMMISSIONER TRAVEL. 

10 The Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commis11 sion shall authorize all domestic and international travel 

12 requested by other members of the Commission for official 

13 business unless the Chairman submits a notice of dis14 approval to the full Commission specifying the basis for 

15 the disapproval. The notice of disapproval shall be sub16 mitted within 5 days after the travel is requested or the 

17 travel shall be deemed approved. 

18 SEC. 8. BUDGET REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT. 

19 No budget or budget revision shall be adopted for the 

20 Nuclear Regulatory Commission unless each member of 

21 the Commission has been given an opportunity to— 

22 (1) participate in the development of such 

23 budget or revision after being provided access to all 

24 relevant information used in such development; and 


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1 (2) vote on the approval of such budget or revi2 sion. 

Æ 


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