In light of the continuing safety problems at Indian Point, the fact that Entergy are seeking a 20-year license extension for both Indian Point reactors, and how poorly FEMA and DHS handled mass emergency evacuations of Hurricane Katrina and Rita in fall 2005, an important Indian Point bill (HR 4891) was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressmen Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Christopher Shays (R-CT), Eliot Engel (D-NY), and Congresswomen Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Sue Kelly (R-NY)on March 7, 2006. In April 2006, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton introduced the companion bill (S 2488) in the U.S. Senate.

On April 26th, 2007 Governor Eliot Spitzer formally requested that the NRC conduct an Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) at the Indian Point nuclear power plant. His call was backed by New York’s Congressional delegates including Representatives John Hall (D-NY), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Nita Lowey (D-NY), and Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) who introduced legislation in February 2007 that would require an in-depth review of Indian Point’s vital safety and mechanical systems, spent fuel pools, and radiological emergency evacuation plans. On April 25th, Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) reaffirmed her commitment to an ISA at the Oversight Hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.