Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, my name is Joe Colvin. I am President and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute. The Institute coordinates public policy for the U.S. nuclear industry. We represent 275 member companies with a broad spectrum of interests, including every U.S. utility that operates a nuclear power plant, their suppliers, fuel fabrication facilities, architectural and engineering firms, labor unions and law firms, radiopharmaceutical companies, research laboratories, universities and international nuclear organizations.

Today I would like to discuss two matters of great importance to America's nuclear industry: (1) the continuing situation of EPA dual regulation of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensees, and (2) reforming the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program.

Allow me to begin by expressing our industry's appreciation for your commitment to careful oversight of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and, in particular, to the agency's administration of the National Priorities List. The nuclear industry is very appreciative of this subcommittee's recognition of the need for continued congressional oversight of federal regulatory funds. We join you in embracing the tenets of the White House regulatory reform effort that discourages the allocation of funding to agencies whose regulation has proven inconsistent or incompatible.