{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.inhofe.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/inhofe-opening-statement-at-epw-hearing-on_nrcs-implementation-of-fukishima-recommendations", "Inhofe Opening Statement at EPW Hearing on  NRCs Implementation of Fukishima Recommendations", "2014-12-03", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "OK", "James Inhofe", "I000024", "www.inhofe.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Inhofe Opening Statement at EPW Hearing on  NRC\u2019s Implementation of Fukishima Recommendations\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tWednesday, December 3, 2014\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today delivered the following opening statement at a full committee hearing entitled, \u201cNRC\u2019s Implementation of the Fukushima Near-Term Task Force Recommendations and other Actions to Enhance and Maintain Nuclear Safety.\u201d\r\nAs prepared for delivery:\r\nChairman Boxer, thank you for holding this hearing.\r\nOver the last several years, I have consistently voiced my concern about the overregulation coming out of this Administration.\u00a0 It has been across every industry, including nuclear.\r\nIt started with Utility MACT and the Cross State Air Pollution Rule a few years ago; then came the 316(b) Water Rule this past year.\u00a0 Now, after a false start on the cap-and-trade bill, EPA is pressing ahead with aggressive and unauthorized greenhouse gas regulations for power plants.\u00a0 And when you also weigh the Waters of the United States rule and the new proposal to reduce the Ozone NAAQS standard, it\u2019s no surprise that the economy has not recovered under the Obama Administration.\r\nIn fact, if the EPA brings the Ozone standard down to 60 parts per billion, as it is taking comment on, it would put all 77 counties in Oklahoma out of attainment, making it impossible to do things like build new highways and factories.\u00a0 It could also stall much of the new oil and gas development going on around the country.\r\nThese are the things that we have tried to raise attention to over the last few years, and I anticipate that will continue to be the case.\r\nBut a few years ago, if there is an agency that I did not think would get brought into this thrall of overregulation, it would be the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.\r\nI have always seen the NRC as being a leader of working cooperatively with industry to craft regulations in a way that appropriately balance safety and cost, particularly when it comes to the cumulative cost of regulations.\u00a0 So when I see that the NRC is working on some 50 or 60 new policies and regulations, knowing that many of them are redundant of other policies already on the books, I have to wonder where things went wrong.\r\nMany of these regulations will only have marginal, if any, impact on improving safety \u2013 whether security or operational \u2013 and yet their cost is massive when everything is added together.\r\nI want the nuclear fleet in the United States to be safe, and it is safe.\u00a0 The NRC on the whole has been doing its job well.\u00a0\r\nBut the fact of the matter is that NRC has grown too large, and it doesn\u2019t have enough to do.\u00a0 I\u2019ve said several times here that I helped push the Agency\u2019s budget higher because we thought a nuclear renaissance was coming.\u00a0 It did not, but the NRC got the money anyway.\u00a0 And what do government agencies do when their budget grows faster than their mission?\u00a0 They overregulate.\r\nI support reducing the NRC budget because I think a smaller NRC, at this point in time, will enable the commission to focus its efforts on its core mission and not on the development of unnecessary and redundant regulations.\r\nI appreciate you taking the time to come testify.\u00a0 I look forward to hearing your thoughts on these matters and look forward to working with you to craft solutions.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.inhofe.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/inhofe-opening-statement-at-epw-hearing-on_nrcs-implementation-of-fukishima-recommendations"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.646652352064848, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}