All of the nation's current nuclear reactors were built under a two-step licensing process -- affected citizens could request public hearings before construction, and again before an operating license was granted. Public participation frequently brought to the attention of the regulators problems that they had missed, and the plants were made safer as a result.

As part of the Comprehensive National Energy Policy Act (H.R. 776), House members gave significant consideration to the use of nuclear energy and the accompanying issues of the public's health, safety, and rights. The House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs included language in its mark-up of the Energy bill to streamline the licensing process while still preserving citizens' rights to post-construction hearings on significant safety issues that had not been considered prior to reactor construction.

Representatives Bob Clement (D, TN-5) and Joe Barton (R, TX-6) introduced an amendment to the energy bill, which, through several provisions, would strip citizens' rights to a public hearing on the safety of newly built nuclear reactors. The Clement-Barton amendment was adopted 254-160 on May 20, 1992. NO is the pro-environment vote.