By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) from Alabama issued a written statement after voting in Committee against the nomination of Dr. Allison Macfarlane to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Senator Sessions is a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
Sen. Sessions said, “While I do not intend to hold up this nomination, I am unable to support Dr. Macfarlane given my concerns about her background and views on nuclear power. Through this nomination, the President has, once again, demonstrated his opposition to a sound national energy policy.”
Sen. Sessions continued, “Our nation derives 20 percent of the electricity needed to drive the economy through nuclear power, which is a clean, safe, and affordable source of energy. While Dr. Macfarlane’s collegial approach will be an improvement over the current NRC chairman she would be replacing, Dr. Macfarlane does not appear, in my view, to be in favor of the increased use of nuclear power in the United States. She has been a dues-paying member of national organizations who strongly oppose nuclear energy, and she has been an active opponent of completing the Yucca Mountain project.”
Sen. Sessions said, “Regrettably, we have not built a new nuclear power plant in three decades, although there has been, in recent years, a reawakening to the important role that more nuclear power can play in providing affordable energy security for America. I am concerned that Dr. Macfarlane could use her new position to thwart the expanded use of this important energy source. I would urge the President to give serious consideration to her background and views before officially designating her as chairman of the NRC.”
Dr. Macfarlane’s predecessor, Dr. Gregory Jaczko resigned after all the other members of the NRC accused Jaczko of keeping information from them and a report was released accusing him of unprofessional conduct including being verbally abusive towards female staffers at the NRC.
The recent implementation of restrictive new EPA regulations on CO2 emissions has led to the closing of dozens of America’s coal burning electric power plants. Despite $billions of government subsidies and research into alternative energies like wind and solar power neither of those power sources appear to be capable of supplying American with it’s growing energy needs. Nuclear energy emits no CO2 emissions and is more cost effective than wind or solar power. Safety concerns have plagued the industry since the Three Mile Island incident of the late 1970s.
Senator Jefferson “Jeff” Beauregard Sessions III was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996. Sen. Sessions resides in Mobile when not representing the state’s interests in Washington.
