Little change on the horizon in the 109th Congress
House and Senate Appropriations Committees
When the Republican majorities took control of the House and Senate after the 1994 elections, the Republican conference in each chamber adopted a rule that requires the Republican Chairman of a full committee to resign his seat after serving as Chairman for six years. Under this rule, the Chairmen of both the Senate and House Appropriations Committees (Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska and Congressman Bill Young of Florida, respectively) will be required to relinquish control of those panels in the 109th Congress. Both of these lawmakers have been strong supporters of nuclear issues and have helped to strengthen nuclear programs and policies through the appropriations process.
The next Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee will be Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi. He is an advocate for nuclear issues and has voted in favor of funding for nuclear programs, including Yucca Mountain. His pro-nuclear stance, coupled with Senator Domenici's retention as Chairman of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, should mean relatively little impact on the Senate Committee's support for nuclear funding issues.
The House situation is less clear. There are three senior Republicans vying for the Chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee. They are Reps. Jerry Lewis of California; Ralph Regula of Ohio; and Hal Rogers of Kentucky. All of them have consistently supported efforts to adequately fund nuclear programs in the past, despite not directly representing a congressional district which is home to a nuclear plant. The new Chairman will be elected from among these three by the House Republican's sometime in December or January, prior to the beginning of the 109th Congress.
While current Chairman Dave Hobson is expected to remain the leader of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, the new full committee Chairman will be in a position to influence the subcommittee's recommendations.
House Energy and Commerce Committee
The current Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Joe Barton of Texas, was appointed earlier this year following the resignation of then-Chair Billy Tauzin. The subcommittee has jurisdiction over most of the policy aspects related to energy, including nuclear. In July, the Committee reported out a bill that would remove Yucca Mountain funding from the annual budget process and replace it with a direct payment system that is not constrained by the federal appropriations process.
Should the pending energy bill not be enacted prior to final adjournment this year, Chairman Barton and his committee will be the lead in the House in the development of new legislation in the 109th Congress.
House Science Committee
Both the Chairman of the full Science Committee, Sherwood Boehlert of New York, and the Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chair, Judy Biggert of Illinois, are expected to retain their positions. This committee has oversight of the Department of Energy's nuclear research and development programs and their inclusion in a revised energy bill next year will be its responsibility.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
Chairman Domenici is expected to remain the leader of this committee. Depending on the outcome of the current energy bill, this committee could possibly be forced to develop another legislative proposal in the next Congress.
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
It is this committee's Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate Change and Nuclear Security which has oversight of nuclear-related issues. The current Chairman of the full committee, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma and the subcommittee Chairman, George Voinovich of Ohio, are both expected to retain their positions. This committee will be required to address the vacancies at the NRC during the next session of Congress.
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