Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Budget, Performance and Financial Snapshot Fiscal Year 2008

Who We Are

Mission: The NRC's mission is to license and regulate the Nation?s civilian use of byproduct, source,and special nuclear materials to ensure adequate protection of public health and safety, promote the common defense and security, and protect the environment. For more information, please view the NRC Strategic Plan located at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1614/v4/sr1614v4.pdf.

Organization: The NRC is headed by a Commission composed of five members, with one member designated by the President to serve as Chairman (see http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization.html). The President appoints each member, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to serve a 5-year term. The Chairman is the principal executive officer and official spokesman for the Commission. The Executive Director for Operations carries out program policies and decisions made by the Commission. The Department's Organizational Chart is available at http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/nrcorg.pdf.

Personnel: The NRC headquarters office is located in Rockville, MD. (see http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/locations.html). Four regional offices are located in King of Prussia, PA; Atlanta, GA; Lisle, IL; and Arlington, TX. The NRC?s technical training center is located in Chattanooga, TN. The NRC also employs at least two resident inspectors at each of the Nation?s nuclear power reactor sites.

Budgetary Resources: The NRC?s budget for FY 2008 was $926.1 million, including $8.7 million for the Office of the Inspector General, with 3,707 full-time equivalent staff. The NRC recovers most of its appropriations from fees paid by NRC licensees. The chart below titled "Total Spending" represents the net outlay (amount of money not collected by fees) appropriated to NRC.


Budget Snapshot

Total Spending FY 2005-2009
Total Outlays
 Mandatory $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
 Discretionary $112 $56 $90 $112 $157
Total $112 $56 $90 $112 $157
$ in millions
Top 5 Programs By Budget
  Top 5 Programs
  Reactor Oversight New Reactors Reactor Licensing Tasks Nuclear Materials Users Fuel Facitlites
2008 $239.3 $234.4 $213.5 $57.4 $35
2009 $255.4 $237.5 $225.5 $74.3 $48.5
$ in millions

Performance Snapshot

Accomplishments: The NRC continues to provide effective and efficient regulatory oversight of the nuclear industry as it embarks upon a period of significant growth with the review of 17 combined license applications to build and operate 26 new nuclear power plants. The NRC has also received and is currently reviewing the U.S. Department of Energy's application for the construction of the Nation's first geological repository for high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, NV.

Challenges: The primary challenges the agency faces are: the large number of license applications for new nuclear power plants, the safe disposal of high-level nuclear waste, and the need to ensure security at nuclear facilities.
Financial Snapshot
Clean Opinion on Financial Statements Yes
Timely Financial Reporting Yes Material Weaknesses 0
Improper Payment Rate   Total Assets $554
Total Liabilities $137 Net Cost of Operations $146
$ in millions
  Footnote:
  • Total spending numbers reflect updated information in the NRC FY 08 PAR.
  • NRC does not report on the Improper Payment Rate.

Summary of Nuclear Regulatory Commission Ratings for Fiscal Year 2008

 
                        FY 2008 Performance
Results per Strategic Goal
  Met/Exceeded     Not met but improved over prior years
  Not met target     Data not yet available
Budget per Strategic Goal
($ in millions)
Strategic Goal: Safety
Ensure adequate protection of public health and safety and the environment.
 
Sample chart
          
2008 Actual = $845
Performance Measure(s)* 2006 Results 2007 Results 2008 Target 2008 Results 2009 Target
Number of significant accident sequence precursors of a nuclear reactor accident is zero. 0 0 0 0   0
Number of new conditions evaluated as red by the Reactor Oversight Process is ≤ 3. 0 0 0 0   0
Number of events with radiation exposures to the public and occupational workers that exceed Abnormal Occurrence Criterion I.A. 0 0 0 0   0
Strategic Goal: Security
Ensure adequate protection in the secure use and management of radioactive materials.
 
Sample chart
          
2008 Actual = $72
Performance Measure(s)* 2006 Results 2007 Results 2008 Target 2008 Results 2009 Target
Number of unrecovered losses or thefts of risk-significant radioactive sources is zero. 0 0 0 0   0
Number of substantiated cases of theft or diversion of licensed, risk-significant radioactive sources or formula quantities of special nuclear material; or attacks that result in radiological sabotage is zero. 0 0 0 0   0
Number of substantiated losses of formula quantities of special nuclear material or substantiated inventory discrepancies of formula quantities of special nuclear material that are caused by theft or diversion or by substantial breakdown of the accountability system sabotage is zero. 0 0 0 0   0
  * This measure was selected from a number of performance measures aimed at the specific strategic goal