Hill Day Rebooted: 45 NAYGN Members Bring Nuclear to Capitol Hill

Submitted by Dylan Moss, Government Outreach

On May 22nd, about 45 NAYGN members assembled at the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) headquarters in Washington, D.C. We were there to revive an old NAYGN tradition: Hill Day. The last time this event was held was in 2022, alongside the Nuclear Energy Assembly conference.

This year, Hill Day was held alongside the Nuclear Energy Policy Forum (NEPF). Only a handful of NAYGN members were present at the NEPF, where they were versed in the latest in nuclear legislation and the current successes and challenges facing the industry.

On Thursday morning, a few policy experts and Nuclear Matters brought the whole group up to speed on how to advocate for nuclear when discussing with legislators. Then, we split into groups, reviewed our meeting schedules curated by NEI, and hit the Metro! We spent about four hours on the hill, meeting with Congresspeople and their staff. At the end of the day, we all reassembled at a nearby bar called Bullfeathers - a common meeting point for congressional staffers. In fact, a pro-nuclear staffer joined us that evening, in order to follow up on efforts to incorporate technical expertise into a few draft bills!

It was an exciting revival of an important NAYGN annual event, which will serve as the blueprint of not only future D.C. Hill Days, but state Hill Days as well. Keep your eyes peeled!