ML20135H391
| ML20135H391 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 09/13/1985 |
| From: | Palladino N NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Brooks J HOUSE OF REP., GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20135H392 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8509230207 | |
| Download: ML20135H391 (2) | |
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o UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION k
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September 13, 1985 CHAIRMAN The Honorable Jack Brooks, Chairman Committee on Government Operations United States House of Representatives Washington, D. C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
We are responding to your request for comments on H.R. 3077, which would expand some of the provisions of the Inspector General Act of 1978 to cover, among others, the Nuclear i Regulatory Commission (NRC). The NRC does not believe that application of the proposed legislation to the NRC is either necessary or warranted.
The NRC is a relatively small agency, headed by a five-member Commission. The Commission's audit and investigative unit for internal affairs -- the Office of Inspector and Auditor (0IA) --
has direct access to the Commissioners, and has all the necessary independence to do its job. Indeed, with a five-member Commission, it would be difficult to improperly control the activities of OIA.
Moreover, since the agency is relatively small, the Commission believ.es it is important that DIA remain a necessary management extension of the Commission in overseeing the programs and activities of the NRC. The proposed legislation would take some of those management benefits away from the Commission. In the absence of any showing that statutory independence is needed for 0IA, the Commission opposes legislation which would lessen its ability to direct the functioning of the agency.
The Commission's view that application of the proposed legislation to the NRC is unwarranted is supported by a reading of the details of the proposed legislation. The legislation is apparently intended to correct abuses where there are large opportunities for fraud. Thus,'for instance, Section 4(a)(7) of the proposed bill would require a statistical analysis of audit reports. Such a requirement would be burdensome and meaningless to the NRC, which does less than two dozen audits a year, and does not issue large numbers of grants and contracts. The requirement of semiannual reports to Congress under Section 5 of the Inspector General Act would be similarly burdensome. OIA 4 does not conduct enough audits to justify such a reporting requirement. Moreover, Congress currently has access to anything OIA does; hence there is no need for an additional, formal requiremert.
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In sum, the NRC's internal audit and investigative office is currently functioning in a fully acceptable manner. There is accordingly no justification for imposing new, burdensome, and probably costly requirements on the Commission.
Commissioner Asselstine supports the proposed legislation and its application to the NRC. He believes that H.R. 3077 would help ensure the continued independence of our Office of Inspector and Auditor (01A) by extending some of the protection afforded a statutory Inspector General to this NRC office. Such independence would enhance public confidence in the NRC, and would provide more assurance that both Congress and the NRC Commissioners were receiving objective information, which in turn might improve Congressional oversight. Commissioner Asselstine does not believe that this legislation would inhibit the Commission's management of OIA or the Agency. Finally, given the limited number of audits performed by OIA, he does not believe that the reporting requirements in the bill will be burdensome.
Sincerely, T
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V Nunzio J. Palladino f
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