Congressional Watchdog Recommends Changes to Atomic Energy Act

Report says Executive Branch should provide regular briefings to Congress about negotiations on Saudi-US nuclear power sharing

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during the release of the 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report at the State Department in Washington on June 20, 2019. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

A congressional watchdog released a report Monday in which it recommended that the U.S. Departments of State and Energy commit to briefing the relevant Congressional committees on negotiations with Saudi Arabia about nuclear power cooperation.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Congress should consider modifying the 1954 Atomic Energy Act (AEA) to require regular briefings for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations about Trump Administration’s talks with Saudi Arabia on nuclear power-sharing.