Sen. Reid defends US nuke chief against complaints

[jpak]

http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFN1E7B901N20111210

WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Saturday sought to defend the chairman of the U.S. nuclear safety commission, a man he helped put into power and who is locked in a bitter battle with fellow regulators over reforms prompted by Japan's Fukushima nuclear accident.

The deep-seated infighting within the five-member Nuclear Regulatory Commission was exposed on Friday after Democrats and Republicans in Congress separately released complaints about misconduct at the highest levels of the agency.

The complaints about NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko are "a politically motivated witch hunt against a man with a proven track record of ensuring that nuclear power is produced as safely and responsibly as possible," a Reid spokesman said.

"His leadership during the Fukushima nuclear crisis was instrumental in ensuring the safety of Americans in the wake of that disaster, and his safety-oriented approach is what we need to protect the American people from a similar crisis in our own backyards," said Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson.

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