White House Forms Group to Support Nuclear Power
The White House has created an internal working group of selected federal agency officials to accelerate an expansion of nuclear power in the country. The panel, which includes officials from a half-dozen cabinet-level agencies, is expected to serve in part as a “sounding board” for nuclear industry officials who have expressed frustration over the slow pace of government licensing approvals for upgrading and expanding the nation’s aging nuclear power plants. A revival of the U.S. nuclear industry is a priority for the Bush administration, which argues that nuclear offers a reliable no-emissions source of power for meeting the nation’s growing energy needs. The nuclear power industry has mounted an aggressive campaign to generate public and political support for the construction of a new fleet of nuclear plants, the first that would be built in the United States in decades. The new White House group, which held its first meeting earlier this month, will be headed by the National Economic Council and include officials with DOE, Office of Management & Budget, Council of Economic Advisors, Council for Environmental Quality, Office of Science & Technology, Office of the Vice President, and possibly the Environmental Protection Agency, according to Lisa Epifani, special assistant […]