NRC Staff Pay Alignment Act

This bill amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to give the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) new authority to set pay for certain career appointees. It also makes related changes to reporting requirements.

Sec. 2, Compensation authority for career appointees: This section adds a new subsection (d) to Section 161B of the Atomic Energy Act. It allows the NRC Chairman to set the annual basic pay for a career appointee at up to 110% of the maximum pay for Senior Executive Service positions at the NRC. This authority applies regardless of when the appointee was hired and does not affect certification of the NRC's performance appraisal system. The term "career appointee" is defined by reference to existing law. The section also updates cross-references in other parts of the law to include this new pay authority, and requires the NRC to report the total number of career appointees whose pay is set under this new authority. Additionally, it makes a conforming amendment to the ADVANCE Act of 2024 to include the new subsection (d) in a reporting requirement.