Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday that he doesn't believe the U.S. should back away from nuclear energy in the wake of potential reactor meltdowns in Japan.

"This discussion reminds me, somewhat, of the conversations that were going on after the BP oil spill last year," Mr. McConnell said during an interview on "Fox News Sunday." "I don't think right after a major environmental catastrophe is a very good time to be making American domestic policy."

As congressional Republicans engage the White House on the issue of rising energy prices, the potential meltdown at a nuclear facility in Japan threatens to undermine a central element in the Republican push for expanded domestic energy production: new permits and financial incentives to spur the construction of new nuclear facilities in the U.S.