Senate approves Caputo, Crowell for US Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The US Senate confirmed in a voice vote Aug. 2 the nominations of Annie Caputo and Bradley Crowell to serve as commissioners on the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The vote gives the five-member agency a full complement of commissioners for the first time since then-Chairman Kristine Svinicki left when her term ended in Jan. 2021.

US President Joe Biden nominated Caputo, a Republican, and Crowell, a Democrat, in May. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works unanimously approved their nominations July 27.

The American Nuclear Society applauded the pair's confirmation, with ANS President Steven Arndt and Executive Director and CEO Craig Piercy saying in a statement Aug. 3 "a full five-member commission is essential to the effectiveness of the NRC in protecting public health and safety while enabling the deployment and applications of new nuclear technologies."

Arndt and Piercy noted that "NRC has a vital role to play in addressing our most pressing climate and energy security challenges," saying they "look forward to commissioners Caputo and Crowell's tenures in overseeing the continued safe and efficient operation of our current nuclear power plants and in establishing an effective licensing framework for a new generation of nuclear technologies."

Caputo, a nuclear engineer, was previously nominated to the commission by then-US President Donald Trump and served from May 2018 to June 2021 when her term expired. She was previously a majority senior policy adviser for nuclear issues for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees NRC.

Caputo was also a staffer for the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee and, before that, was a congressional affairs manager for Exelon.

Crowell since 2016 had been director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Prior to that, he worked for several members of Congress, including former Nevada Governor and Senator Richard Bryan, a Democrat, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat.

From 2010 to 2016, Crowell served in the Department of Energy, including as assistant secretary of energy for congressional and intergovernmental affairs.

Under the Atomic Energy Act, no more than three NRC commissioners can be affiliated with any single political party, and they serve staggered terms, with one term expiring each year.

Two seats have been vacant since Caputo's previous term ended last year. NRC Chairman Christopher Hanson and Commissioner Jeff Baran are Democrats, while Commissioner David Wright is a Republican.