McConnell Statement on Jaczko Resignation as Chairman of the NRC

Statement

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell released the following statement today in which he welcomed the resignation of Dr. Gregory Jaczko as chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission:

"Dr. Jaczko's troubling behavior as chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had clearly resulted in a hostile work environment for women that ran counter to acceptable norms of workplace equality and that threatened to undermine the mission of the NRC itself. The only thing surprising about his resignation is the fact that the Obama administration has remained silent for more than a year after allegations of Jaczko's offensive behavior surfaced. Even Democrat commissioners said that Jaczko bullied employees and intimidated female workers as chairman of the commission. Clearly, there's no room for this kind of behavior from any public official, and the head of a critical agency that is charged with ensuring the safety of our nation's nuclear power plants is no exception. I call on the White House to move forward with a replacement for Jaczko and urge the Senate to reconfirm the nomination of Kristine Svinicki as an NRC commissioner before her term expires on June 30. Commissioner Svinicki was confirmed to her current term without a single dissenting vote. As one of the world's leading experts on nuclear safety, she has served with distinction as a commissioner, and deserves a speedy reconfirmation. The 4,000 career employees at the NRC rely on her leadership and the American people need her expertise on the commission. The public is best-served by a commission that is fully functional."

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