Press Release
Press Release
Press Contacts: Erik Cummins, Matt Hyams, Olivia Thomas
12.15.16
Energy partner Jeffrey Merrifield has been appointed to the U.S. federal government’s Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee (CINTAC), the Department of Commerce announced Tuesday. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker has appointed 39 CINTAC members, including chief executives from various energy, technology, engineering and communications firms, along with subject-matter authorities from the legal and higher education sectors.
“Maintaining U.S. leadership in the nuclear industry is critical to our country’s economic vitality and to global efforts to combat climate change,” Pritzker said in a statement. “The Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee is a valuable mechanism for private sector representatives to contribute to policy discussions and work with government leaders to create the conditions that will strengthen U.S. competitiveness in this sector.”
Merrifield’s practice at Pillsbury focuses on nuclear energy and energy and infrastructure projects. He is legal advisor for the nonprofit ClearPath Foundation, which works with policymakers and the industry to encourage adoption of advanced nuclear energy technology and to address the regulatory burdens associated with the technology. He has testified before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, where he encouraged measures that would update the NRC’s advanced reactor licensing process to be faster and more efficient.
Merrifield was appointed by Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to serve on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) from 1998 to 2007. He also has served on the Board of Directors for the U.S. Ecology Corporation and as a lead spokesperson for the Nuclear Energy Institute and the American Nuclear Society in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.