Analyst Brief November 06, 2026

H.R. 9614 — NRC Staff Pay Alignment Act

Current Status

Introduced

Executive Summary

The NRC Staff Pay Alignment Act (H.R. 9614) grants the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) the authority to increase the basic pay of career appointees up to 110% of the maximum rate for Senior Executive Service (SES) positions. This legislation addresses acute recruitment and retention challenges at the NRC by allowing the agency to offer more competitive salaries compared to the private sector. By ensuring the regulator is adequately staffed with top-tier talent, the bill supports the broader bipartisan goal of accelerating nuclear energy deployment established in the ADVANCE Act of 2024.

Bill Data

Primary Sponsor

Rep. Menendez (D-NJ)

Bill Number

H.R. 9614

Session

119th

Co-Sponsors

None
View on Congress.gov ↗

Arguments For

  • Addresses critical brain-drain at the NRC by allowing the agency to compete with lucrative private-sector nuclear and tech salaries, ensuring regulatory bottlenecks do not delay new energy projects.
  • Builds upon the bipartisan momentum of the ADVANCE Act of 2024, providing the necessary administrative and workforce tools to actually implement the accelerated nuclear deployment goals.

Likely Supporters

Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)Senior Executives Association (SEA)Federal employee unions

Arguments Against

  • Fiscal conservatives may object to raising federal bureaucrat salaries above standard SES caps, viewing it as inflationary to the federal payroll.
  • Could trigger a domino effect where other specialized federal agencies demand similar statutory pay cap exemptions for their career staff, undermining the standardized federal pay scale.

Likely Opponents

National Taxpayers UnionCitizens Against Government Waste

📋 Key Provisions

  • Authorizes the NRC Chairman to fix the compensation of career appointees at an annual rate up to 110% of the maximum SES basic pay rate.
  • Applies the new compensation authority regardless of when the career appointee was originally hired.
  • Clarifies that exercising this pay authority will not negatively affect the certification of the NRC's performance appraisal system under Title 5.
  • Mandates reporting on the total number of career appointees whose compensation is adjusted under this new authority.
  • Amends the ADVANCE Act of 2024 to include this new compensation authority in ongoing Government Accountability Office (GAO) reporting requirements.
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Claim Analysis Page 2, Line 10

Caps career appointee pay at 110 percent of the maximum SES rate.

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"basic pay that is not greater than 110 percent"

Claim Analysis Page 2, Line 22

Ensures the pay authority does not affect the certification of the Commission's performance appraisal system.

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"affect the certification of any performance appraisal"

Claim Analysis Page 3, Line 22

Requires tracking the total number of career appointees whose compensation is fixed under this authority.

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"the total number of career appointees"

Claim Analysis Page 4, Line 17

Updates the ADVANCE Act of 2024 to include this authority in GAO reports.

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"502(b) of the ADVANCE Act of 2024"