The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) expressed concerns this week over the Obama administration’s unwillingness to make significant cost-cutting measures in its fiscal 2017 budget request for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
The NEI also objects to the administration’s request to reinstate a tax on electricity consumers in 30 states to help fund cleanup and decontamination efforts at Energy Department uranium-enrichment facilities.
Regarding the tax, NEI said it is unwarranted because the nuclear industry has met financial committments of approximately $2.6 billion under a law passed in 1992.
“Industry recognizes that the federal government is under significant budget pressures, but reinstating unjustified taxes on utility consumers while the government has failed to meet its own obligation is outrageously unfair,” NEI Senior Vice President for Governmental Affairs Alex Flint said.
The NEI said the DOE budget proposal for fiscal 2017 totals $32.5 billion, with approximately $994 million allocated for nuclear programs.
