Dive Brief:
- In a 10-8 vote with Republicans weighing in only by proxy, Senate Democrats extended Jeffery Baran's term at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
- There were no Republicans present at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee meeting where the vote was held, the Hill reported.
- Baran was first nominated to serve on the NRC in September and was confirmed, but that term was set to expire next year; Republicans have argued that he is not qualified to regulate the nation's nuclear program.
Dive Insight:
Baran was first nominated to serve on the NRC in September, and was confirmed to fill the remainder of former Commissioner William Magwood's term. But when President Obama nominated Baran to a full term, Republicans balked saying he does not have the necessary experience.
Magwood left the NRC and is now Director-General of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency.
"The President's nominee to ensure the safety and success of our nuclear future visited a nuclear facility for the first time in his life this summer," U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), the top Republican on the committee, said in a statement last month. "It is vital to the security and reliability of our nation's energy needs for the members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to be independent, thoughtful, and highly qualified. Baran clearly lacks that experience, and we need to hold a full EPW committee hearing."