12/14/11 2:41pm

Article By: Marty Niland

All four of Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko’s fellow commissioners told a House panel today that Jaczko regularly berates and intimidates members of the NRC’s senior staff, and that his behavior and management tactics inhibit the agency from carrying out its mission.

Commissioners Kristine L. Svinicki, George Apostolakis, William D. Magwood, IV, and William C. Ostendorff spoke to the House Oversight and Government reform committee after writing to White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley on Oct. 13, citing “grave concerns” about Jaczko’s conduct, calling it “erratic.” The letter from the commissioners, two Democrats and two Republicans, states Jaczko’s behavior is “causing serious damage to this institution and are creating a chilled work environment at the NRC.” Jaczko, also a witness at today's hearing, denies the allegations.

Svinicki, a Republican, testified that Jaczko engages in “continued outbursts of abusive rage directed at subordinates within the agency’s staff.” She said those outburst have been directed at every commissioner, including herself, as well as staff at various levels in the agency.

Magwood, a Democrat, testified of Jaczko’s “raging verbal assault” of agency staff, and that some female staffers have been brought to tears in front of their colleagues. Magwood said that in his previous role as director of the Department of Energy’s nuclear programs, he had removed staffers from management positions after they had similarly displayed what he termed “misogynistic behavior.”

Magwood also testified that Jaczko “has made a regular practice of interfering with the ability of the Commission to obtain information from the NRC staff.” He cited one instance in which Jaczko dispatched a staffer to break up a briefing involving Magwood and another commissioner on fire safety.

Apostolakis and Ostendorff also testified that Jaczko’s behavior prevents commissioners form being informed of the NRC staff’s views and recommendations and that they undermine the agency’s mission. All of Jaczko’s fellow commissioners also testified that their motivations in writing the letter and testifying against Jaczko were not political.

Jaczko denied that he had bullied NRC staffers or withheld information and defended his leadership. He said he was hearing many of the allegations against him for the first time, and suggested that they stemmed from a communications problem that could be corrected. "I believe that many of these instances that they are referring to have been misconstrued," he said. “I’m certainly very interested in continuing the dialogue with them to determine why we are not communicating effectively,” Jaczko said.