[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 53 (Thursday, April 15, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2373-S2374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO DALE E. KLEIN

 Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, the Honorable Dale E. Klein 
completed his last day as a member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission on March 30,

[[Page S2374]]

2010, and has returned to the faculty of the University of Texas, from 
which he had been on an extended leave of absence as the result of his 
appointment by former President George W. Bush to the Department of 
Defense and subsequently to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Dr. 
Klein began his tenure at the NRC on July 1, 2006, having been 
appointed by the President as the agency's Chairman. He continued to 
serve in that role until May 13, 2009, when President Obama designated 
Gregory B. Jaczko as the NRC Chairman. Although Dr. Klein would have 
preferred to return to the University of Texas at that time, he elected 
to remain an NRC Commissioner from May 2009 to March 30, 2010, to 
ensure continuity of the Commission until the President could nominate, 
and the U.S. Senate could confirm, his successor and two additional new 
Commissioners to fill existing vacancies on the Commission.
  Dr. Klein's tenure as the NRC Chairman coincided with the rapid 
acceleration in the nuclear industry's plans for the development of a 
new generation of U.S. nuclear power plants. By the time of his 
departure from the agency, the NRC had received 18 applications for 28 
new nuclear power plants after nearly three decades in which no new 
nuclear plants had been constructed in the U.S. This dramatic 
resurgence of the nuclear power option created an urgent and very 
critical need for the NRC to hire an unprecedented number of new staff 
since many of the agency's most experienced technical staff were 
nearing retirement age and the agency had critical skill shortages in 
such areas as construction inspection. Dr. Klein provided oversight and 
direction to the recruiting effort, which at its peak would result in 
net annual increases of approximately 250 new staff. In the absence of 
this effort, the NRC would not have been able to complete its technical 
reviews of new applications on a time frame that would support the 
nuclear industry's plans or meet the Nation's growing need for new 
sources of clean, safe, and affordable energy.
  At the same time, Dr. Klein recognized that the resurgence in 
interest in nuclear power was a global phenomenon that was occurring 
both in countries with established nuclear power programs and countries 
with no prior experience with nuclear power. He consistently emphasized 
the critical importance of establishing and maintaining a strong, 
independent national nuclear regulatory authority in all countries 
considering the nuclear power option in his numerous meetings with his 
international regulatory counterparts in foreign countries, in meetings 
of international organizations like the IAEA, and during his frequent 
trips to foreign countries. Noting that an accident anywhere is an 
accident everywhere, he also ensured that the NRC provided assistance 
in setting up national nuclear regulatory bodies when requested by the 
host country.
  Dr. Klein understood that for the NRC to continue to be an 
outstanding regulatory agency that could serve as a model for foreign 
countries, it needed good people, a strong safety culture, and the 
right technology. He observed that when he arrived at the NRC in July 
2006, the agency had an outstanding technical staff and a strong safety 
culture, but was far behind the times in its technology infrastructure. 
He spent considerable time and effort in upgrading NRC's technology 
infrastructure not only to ensure improved communication within the NRC 
and with its stakeholders, but also to enable the NRC to attract and 
retain the young people that would become the core agency staff in the 
future.
  As the NRC accelerated its hiring of new staff after 2006, however, 
the existing NRC headquarters complex, the White Flint Complex in 
Rockville, MD, could no longer accommodate the headquarters staff, 
forcing the NRC to rent additional space in four other buildings in the 
Rockville area. This dispersal represented a return to conditions 
existing at the time of the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, when 
the NRC was widely dispersed in 11 buildings in the Washington 
Metropolitan area. A study published after the accident cited the 
multiple, scattered locations of the agency's headquarters staff as a 
factor hampering the NRC's response to the 1979 accident. Consequently, 
Dr. Klein made it one of his highest priority goals as Chairman to 
reconsolidate NRC headquarters in a single location in the vicinity of 
the White Flint complex. Most of the preparatory work and obtaining 
local government, GSA, and Congressional approval for the construction 
of a third building at the White Flint complex occurred under the 
guidance and direction of Dr. Klein during his tenure as Chairman.
  Dr. Klein has made very significant contributions to maintaining the 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as the world's first and most 
experienced nuclear regulatory body and has demonstrated over the last 
7 years his commitment to public service and protection of the public 
health and safety. I am therefore pleased to ask my Senate colleagues 
to join me in recognizing this outstanding public servant and in 
wishing him and his family success in all his future endeavors.

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