Jeff Baran

The Honorable Jeff Baran was nominated by President Obama and sworn in as a Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on October 14, 2014. He is currently serving a term ending on June 30, 2023.

Since joining the Commission, Commissioner Baran’s priorities have included ensuring effective implementation of safety enhancements in response to the Fukushima Daiichi accident, improving oversight of power reactors entering decommissioning, and boosting the openness and transparency of agency decisionmaking. He has visited dozens of NRC-licensed facilities, including operating power reactors, a nuclear plant undergoing active decommissioning, research and test reactors, fuel cycle facilities, a low-level waste disposal facility, and a variety of facilities using radioactive materials for medical and industrial purposes. Commissioner Baran also traveled to Fukushima Daiichi for a first-hand look at conditions and activities at the site.

Before serving on the Commission, Commissioner Baran worked for the U.S. House of Representatives for over 11 years. During his tenure with the Energy and Commerce Committee, oversight of NRC was one of his primary areas of responsibility. As a senior counsel and later as Democratic Staff Director for Energy and Environment, Commissioner Baran worked on a range of NRC issues, including new reactor licensing, operating reactor oversight, decommissioning, high-level and low-level waste, and uranium mining, milling, and enrichment. He worked to coordinate the efforts of six federal agencies, including NRC, and two Native American tribes to clean up uranium contamination in and around the Navajo Nation. He also helped negotiate bills related to pipeline safety, energy efficiency, hydropower, electric grid reliability, and medical isotopes that were enacted with bipartisan support. From 2003 to 2008, he was counsel to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Prior to his work on Capitol Hill, Commissioner Baran served as a law clerk for Judge Lesley Wells of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Born and raised in the Chicago area, Commissioner Baran earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in political science from Ohio University. He holds a law degree from Harvard Law School.