The House of Representatives on Wednesday was considering fiscal 2018 legislation that would provide more than $939.1 million for Nuclear Regulatory Commission salaries and expenses.
Floor debate on the bill, which covers appropriations for energy, defense, and other federal operations, was ongoing at deadline for Weapons Complex Morning Briefing.
Of the base funding amount for the NRC under the House bill, just over $779.8 million would be generated from licensing fees, inspection services, and other collections. The rest would come via congressional appropriation.
The measure directs that $30 million of the money come from the the Nuclear Waste Fund, to support NRC licensing activities for the proposed Yucca Mountain deep geological repository for spent fuel and other high-level radioactive waste.
The NRC’s Office of Inspector General would be funded at $12.8 million, with more than $10.5 million provided through fees.
Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee signed off on an NRC funding package with $914 million in base funding, with $10 million in carryover funding, and $12.9 million for the regulator’s Inspector General’s Office. That funding does not include any money for Yucca Mountain licensing.
In May, the NRC requested $952 million in total, including the IG’s Office, covering the equivalent of 3,284 full-staff positions for fiscal 2018.
The House bill also budgets $118 million for the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The program provides remediation of sites contaminated by nuclear weapons and civilian energy programs managed by the Manhattan Engineer District and Atomic Energy Commission from the 1940s to the 1960s.
The Army Corps requested $118 million for FUSRAP. The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $117 million for the program.
