Two California Democrats used a House subcommittee hearing this week to advance legislation on nuclear fuel recycling.
On Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce’s Energy subcommittee held a markup hearing for six nuclear energy-related bills. Multiple bills pertained to codifying changes to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s licensing processes. All six were successfully advanced out of the subcommittee.
Reps. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) focused on closing the backend of the nuclear fuel cycle, speaking predominantly on the Nuclear Recycling Efficient Fuels Utilizing Expedited Licensing (REFUEL) Act.
The Nuclear REFUEL Act seeks to clarify and streamline the licensing pathway for fuel recycling facilities. The Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Sens. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) advanced out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in October 2025.
The Nuclear REFUEL Act, with an amendment made by Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), was passed out of the House Energy and Commerce’s Energy subcommittee by voice vote to the full committee with the other five nuclear bills during the markup. The Department of Energy Nuclear Transparency Act was also amended by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) and passed out of the subcommittee.
Both Matsui and Peters concentrated on the Nuclear REFUEL bill as both lawmakers represent districts that are near shuttered nuclear power plants. Matsui’s district is near Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station near Sacramento, Calif. and Peters’ district is near the San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station (SONGS) near San Diego.
Peters, who co-sponsored the REFUEL Act with Latta, said during the markup that the nuclear waste management predominantly long-term storage, has “consistently been ignored,” With SONGS decommissioning expected to be completed by 2028, many people in the San Diego area are concerned with the SONGS waste being left there in dry storage casks, he said.
Peters said he was encouraged to see the Department of Energy move forward with Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses, which have the capability to seek nuclear waste disposal as a part of it. However, he said Congress has to do its part in finding a way to deal with the waste, such as through fuel recycling.
“Congress must work in parallel [with DOE] on a durable legislative path for intermediate- and long-term storage and utilization of nuclear waste,” Peters said. “That should include removing barriers to recycling and other innovative uses for spent fuel. That’s why the Nuclear REFUEL Act is such a great first step, and I’m glad the committee is acting on it.”
Matsui, like Peters, supported the Nuclear REFUEL, saying that “when it comes to nuclear energy, everyone on this committee knows my number one priority is nuclear waste.”
The United States cannot go forward with building nuclear reactors before coming up with a plan for dealing with nuclear waste, Matsui said. She said it was not fair that communities, such as her district, have to deal with nuclear waste for many years and are forced to sue DOE to cover the cost of having to deal with the waste.
Matsui said the Nuclear REFUEL Act could bring the prospect of fuel recycling by helping reduce the ample amount of nuclear waste across the country and help bring more recycling facilities online.
Though Matsui supported the Nuclear REFUEL Act, she did cite some concern with fuel recycling, saying she was unsure how it would scale in the U.S. and how much nuclear waste could actually be recycled to become new fuel.
Additionally, Matsui said that recycling alone would not be enough to deal with all the country’s 90,000-plus metric tons of nuclear waste and a long-term disposal strategy will still be necessary. Last month during a subcommittee hearing discussing these six nuclear bills, witnesses Kathryn Huff and Maria Korsnick told Matsui and lawmakers a similar point that recycling would only be a partial solution to the backend of the fuel cycle.
“I want to reiterate, recycling cannot be another excuse to kick the can down the road and avoid our responsibility to authorize an effective federal nuclear waste program,” Matsui said. “I urge my colleagues to recognize this fundamental problem and to work with me to advance bipartisan legislation that would authorize a federal nuclear waste program.”