The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is a government
agency, much like the
EPA. Unlike the
EPA, the NRC is
controlled not by a
politically appointed
Secretary or director, but instead by a group of commmissioners, who, although
appointed, cannot be
fired by the
President. The
political controlling force is instead
Congress, which determines the NRC's
funding level from year to year.
Having worked at the NRC for two years, I found that it was both more and less than what you would expect from their web site description.
On the one hand, there are many talented professionals working for the NRC. They do improve safety when they can, especially resident inspectors, who are in direct contact with the nuclear power plants.
However, to a large degree, these engineers are far outnumbered by managers and bureaucrats who are not as fanatic about public safety and in fact are far more interested in advancing to the coveted SES career level, which is even higher than GS-15.