During a Senate Environmental Committee hearing last week, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) spoke about President Trump's decision to fire and then rehire, multiple employees of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
00:00Thank you. Senator Padilla. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to begin by addressing the recent firing of Commissioner Chris Hansen. This firing was without cause and contrary to existing law and long-standing precedent regarding the removal of independent agency appointees.
00:26Chris Hansen was an exceptional public servant who upheld the highest levels of integrity. And this political firing is not just troubling on its face, but will hamper the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's critical work and erode the essential trust and responsibility that the NRC holds.
00:47And I share this, Colleen, because it is important context as we consider Commissioner Wright's nomination.
00:55As the sole member of both this committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee,
01:01I want to make sure I draw my colleagues' attention to the recent reports that the Trump administration is proposing to shift some nuclear licensing responsibilities away from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
01:15and to the Department of Energy, and essentially turning the NRC into a rubber stamp rather than a trusted safety regulator.
01:25This effort has direct implications, colleagues, for the jurisdictional prerogatives of this committee
01:31and our oversight responsibility concerning nuclear power and safety.
01:37This is not a straightforward effort to simply streamline the federal government.
01:43Instead, I fear it could have significant implications for the safety of our nuclear power industry,
01:49and more importantly, for the trust of the American people in nuclear energy.
01:56There are some people who approach this conversation as fans and boosters of nuclear energy and want more.
02:04There's others who approach this conversation in the belief that nuclear energy is key to achieving our climate objectives.
02:11Either way, when it comes to anything related to nuclear energy and the public trust,
02:20we have to recognize that once you break the public trust, it is very hard to rebuild it.
02:28Madam Chair, I urge you to ensure that this committee protects its jurisdiction and the independence of the NRC,
02:35and we must block any effort that would cause the American people to have any reason to doubt
02:40the safety of nuclear power.
02:44Now to my first question.
02:47I'm proud to represent the state of California, where we're not just home to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station,
02:53which is in the process of being completely decommissioned,
02:58but we're also home to Diablo Canyon, which is still generating nuclear energy.
03:03We're also home to earthquakes and a number of significant faults.
03:11And so seismic safety, as it pertains to the nuclear energy conversation,
03:15has been important to me since long before I served as chair of the State Senate Committee on Energy,
03:20Utility, and Communications when I was in the legislature.
03:23And so with that context, I want to ask a question of Mr. Wright.
03:29What steps, Mr. Wright, will you take to ensure that communities located near reactors
03:34can feel safe in the event of an earthquake?
03:39Senator Padilla, thank you for the question.
03:41And by the way, thank you for taking the time to meet with me back in February.
03:45I pulled you off the floor and you made time for us, and it was a good conversation.
03:49I look forward to continuing to work with you and your team in your office.
03:53So we already do very detailed assessments,
04:00and the NRC requires our licensees to do these assessments on seismic and flooding
04:05and other major natural disaster type things that could happen.
04:12It's all part of our calculation and their safety basis, right?
04:16And so we've got margin.
04:17Some people refer to it as orders of magnitude above what is needed.
04:23And we have the experience to evaluate this, and we do it regularly.
04:27And we can do it site-specific at any time using current data or any new data that might come out there.
04:36We're going to stay on top of that.
04:37So, Mr. Wright, I want to thank you.
04:39I don't have a lot more to say about this, but at least you've gotten the beginning on the record.
04:43I'll just emphasize the need for the technical assessment capabilities of the NRC,
04:48the independence of the NRC, and communicating with the public for public confidence purposes.
04:52But in my limited time, I want to at least ask one question of Ms. Turner.
04:56I appreciate the comments you've made as it pertains to international engagement and policy setting.
05:03My question is domestic.
05:06Tribal consultation is critical to ensuring that the voices and sovereignty of tribal governments are respected in the federal decision-making process.
05:15You're from Oklahoma, home to the second largest number of federally recognized tribes, California being the first.
05:22So, just a very fundamental question.
05:24What is your understanding of sovereignty?
05:27And what would be your philosophy or approach to genuine tribal consultation should you be confirmed?
05:38Senator Padilla, thank you for that question.
05:40And I appreciate the question, again, coming from Oklahoma, which is the land of 39 tribes.
05:46And we are very proud to say that, anyone from Oklahoma, whether you are a member of a tribal nation or not.
05:52Tribal consultation is a core policy, is a core tenet for EPA in the Office of International and Tribal Affairs.
06:03The 574 recognized tribes in the U.S. are accepted, are recognized, are understood to be sovereign nations.
06:11And as such, and EPA as far back as 1984, because of that, established an Indian policy, which really identifies two very important things.
06:21One is that we recognize the sovereignty of those nations.
06:24As such, we treat them as a government-to-government entity.
06:27They are not a subsidiary or a subset of anything else.
06:31They are indeed sovereign nations.
06:32And as such, we work towards enabling their ability to oversee the environmental trust of their own lands.
06:39They know their lands better than we do.
06:42And one of EPA's core responsibilities from within the Office of International and Tribal Affairs is to work with them to see that, as they are able, and to meet them where they are at.
06:53Tribes, as we know, in Oklahoma are of various sizes, various histories, various resources.
07:00So to meet them where they need to be met at, to enable their journey towards treatment as a state.
07:06I almost dislike the term treatment as a state, but it's a term we use.
07:11They are not states.
07:12They are sovereign nations.
07:14But work towards their abilities to develop the capacity to oversee environmental programs on their own lands.
07:21And that is something that EPA takes very importantly.
07:24Okay.
07:25Madam Chair, I have a follow-up question, which we'll submit for the record.
