[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 129 (Monday, July 28, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S4761]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Nomination of David Wright

  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I rise today in support of David 
Wright's nomination to serve as a member of the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission. Right now, we stand at a critical junction to ensure that 
our Nation has the ability to provide reliable and affordable power for 
our constituents, our onshore American manufacturing, and also to win 
the AI race. Nuclear energy is absolutely central to achieving these 
goals.
  Fifty years ago, Congress established the NRC to recognize the 
foundational principle of having a credible, independent nuclear safety 
regulator. Since then, the NRC has seen major periods of change, from 
responding to our most significant nuclear accident to preparing for a 
nuclear renaissance that did not fully materialize.
  Through this time, the NRC has evolved on how it functions, but far 
too frequently, these functions have been inefficient, time-consuming, 
expensive, and have not allowed our nuclear innovators and the American 
people to fully realize the benefits of nuclear power.
  That is why, last year, Congress passed the ADVANCE Act with 
overwhelming, bipartisan support to make the NRC's functions more 
efficient, predictable, and affordable. That was my bill.
  Now the Commission must ambitiously implement this legislation. 
Additionally, President Trump has tasked the NRC with implementing his 
Executive order to further reduce the licensing timelines and shed 
unnecessary regulations.
  This is a challenge that the Commission must meet, and we expect the 
NRC to deliver. Achieving this will require experienced and highly 
qualified Commissioners who are empowered to lead the Agency through a 
period of high expectations. Well, David Wright meets that mark.
  Chairman Wright was first confirmed as an NRC commissioner in 2018, 
reconfirmed by the Senate for a full 5-year term in 2020, and has 
served as President Trump's Chairman through the end of that term in 
June when his term expired.
  Throughout his 7 years on the Commission, Chairman Wright has 
demonstrated his vision to make the NRC a modern, risk-informed 
regulator. He supported policies that streamlined requirements to 
advance novel technologies that will help clean up contaminated, 
abandoned uranium sites as well as policies that create the groundwork 
for fusion energy.
  He led this effort to extend the duration of certain licenses to 
provide long-term regulatory certainty, and Chairman Wright has 
instilled accountability with the NRC staff by directing the Agency to 
focus on issues most important for nuclear safety.
  In January, as required by the ADVANCE Act, the Commission updated 
its mission statement for the first time in a generation. Chairman 
Wright worked with his colleagues to revise the mission statement which 
reads:

       The NRC protects public health and safety and advances the 
     nation's common defense and security by enabling the safe and 
     secure use and deployment of civilian nuclear energy 
     technologies and radioactive materials through efficient and 
     reliable licensing, oversight, and regulation for the benefit 
     of society and the environment.

  I support this revised mission statement as it aligns with what 
Congress intended by passing the ADVANCE Act. It is now time for the 
Commission to put this new mission statement into action as the law 
requires--and Congress and President Trump expects--to the benefit of 
our Nation.
  David Wright will help make this mission a reality, and I encourage 
my colleagues to join me in voting for his reconfirmation to the NRC.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic whip.