Shelley Moore Capito

10/08/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/08/2025 14:41

Chairman Capito Asks Nominees About Improving New Chemical Reviews, American Nuclear Leadership

To watch Chairman Capito's questions, click hereor the image above.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, led a hearing on the nominations of Ho Nieh to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Douglas Troutman to be Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

During the hearing, Chairman Capito asked Douglas Troutman about reforming the EPA's new chemical review process and the agency's commitment to work with Congress on addressing Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) shortfalls through bipartisan legislation. Additionally, Chairman Capito asked Ho Nieh about the experience and perspective he would bring to the NRC and the importance of American nuclear leadership.

HIGHLIGHTS:

NEW CHEMICAL REVIEWS:

Chairman Capito:

"If EPA continues imposing burdensome restrictions in the world, it will effectively make it impossible for our U.S. businesses to commercialize their new products. This creates massive uncertainty that new chemistries will be funneled into a commercial dead-end, even if they survive this long, drawn out, multi-year review. So, Mr. Troutman, I have two questions for you. Do you agree that the problem is twofold, both timeliness and outcome? And then, as a follow up, what specific reforms would you pursue to achieve both faster reviews and predictably, commercially viable outcomes?"

Douglas Troutman, Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances of the EPA:

"EPA needs to ensure that the reviews of new chemicals are timely, using the best available science, and to follow the statutory instructions provided by Congress and in direct answer to your question, Senator, it is both twofold, it is timeliness, and it is outcomes. So, I acknowledge your concerns and your observations with the program. As the Administrator has publicly remarked, and in testimony before Congress, there are new resources coming to the office of chemical safety and pollution prevention, both in new team members, but also in additional resources, such as technological resources, IT resources, which we appreciate from Congress to speed up those reviews and to make sure they are done in a timely manner."

TSCA REFORM:

Chairman Capito:

"We also are going to be looking at TSCA because the fee of authorization expires next year. So, this is an opportunity for us to address gaps where current implementation has fallen short. So, we're working on bipartisan legislation to achieve this goal, if confirmed. Mr. Troutman, will you work with Congress in a timely and constructive manner on this effort?"

Douglas Troutman, Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances of the EPA:

"I will."

VISION FOR NRC:

Chairman Capito:

"Mr. Nieh, during your time as the director of the NRC's office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, or NRR, you led an effort to change the culture of the office with the vision of making the safe use of nuclear technology possible. This vision aligns with the NRC's role to enable the use of nuclear energy as envisioned by the ADVANCE Act, and as reflected in the recently updated mission statement. Would you discuss your experience at NRR and how your efforts to bring about a culture change will help shape your vision for the agency as a member of the commission?"

Ho Nieh, nominee to be a Member of the NRC:

"In my roles as director of NRR, as I mentioned in my statement, we embarked on this culture change to become a more enabling regulator. And from my experience there, I found that the staff of the NRC is among the most dedicated staff I have ever worked with in my career, and there were many staff that understood the need, of course, for ensuring that any nuclear development is brought to America safely, but also that the NRC and nuclear technologies have significant benefit to the welfare of our nation. So, it's really to focus on safety, but at the same time recognizing the benefit that these technologies can bring to the United States, and I feel confident that the dedicated workforce of the NRC can rise and meet this moment and deliver to the United States what Congress and the President and the Administration are asking for with the further development of nuclear technologies in the United States in a safe way."

AMERICAN NUCLEAR LEADERSHIP:

Chairman Capito:

"Anytime you're in a conversation, as we're talking about the shortage of energy or the need for more energy, and nuclear enters the conversation, it's almost as if there's a rolling of the eyes of people that you're talking with, whether it's somebody on the manufacturing or technology side, because they feel like we're never going to really get there, because of the length of time and the expense that all of this. But I think it's important, and I'd be interested to hear your insights into what our international leadership needs to be. Yes, it's important for our nation, but it's important for our nation to lead here and be the world leader. What is your perspective on that?"

Ho Nieh, nominee to be a Member of the NRC:

"Referring back to the vision that we embrace when I was last at the NRC about making the safe use of nuclear technology possible, one element of that was to reassert America's leadership in nuclear energy. We recognize that having a robust civilian program, and a regulatory process that enables this technology to be deployed more timely and safely, gives us great benefit in the global nuclear energy market. So, that was something in the spirit of making safe nuclear technology possible. My experience in the international nuclear community, America has incredible leadership through its technical capacity and credibility that it brings to many of the international fora that I've seen, and I think this is a great opportunity, and I know the ADVANCE Act calls for greater collaboration and participation in international activities to help restore America's leadership in global nuclear energy."

IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY:

Chairman Capito:

"The message that I got from both of you is that safety is number one, both on the chemical side and on the nuclear side. And I will say in response to Senator Markey, he's saying chemicals haven't gone through the system over the last years. You know why? Because they didn't do anything. They didn't do anything. They left old chemistry on the books, waiting for new, greener, safer chemistries to be approved, and they never approved them. They just let them sit there. So, Mr. Troutman, thank you for stepping up, and Mr. Nieh, thank you for stepping up. I hope that we know, all of us, collectively, you live in this country, you have kids in this country, the safety of the air, the water, and the energy production in this country is absolutely critical to you, as it is to Lee Zeldin and the President. I think it's insulting to think that you're going to sit there and let all of us live and become less safe, less healthy, and leave it to future generations."

Click HERE to watch Chairman Capito's questions.

Click HERE to watch Chairman Capito's closing remarks.

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Shelley Moore Capito published this content on October 08, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 08, 2025 at 20:41 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]