The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy subcommittee will host a hearing to examine several pieces of nuclear legislation on June 9 in Room 2123 in Rayburn House Office Building at 10:15 a.m. Eastern Time.
The subcommittee panel will look at three bills that have already been introduced during this Congressional session. It will examine House Bill 5549 Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act, House Bill 3978 Nuclear Recycling Efficient Fuels Utilizing Expedited Licensing (Nuclear REFUEL) Act and House Bill 9084 Department of Energy Nuclear Transparency Act.
No panelists have been announced for the hearing, according to the subcommittee’s Tuesday press release.
The Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act was introduced by Reps. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) and Marc Veasey (D-Texas). It seeks to codify streamlining the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s licensing decision in the case that a license application is not contested. Nuclear REFUEL Act, introduced by Reps. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Scott Peters (D-Calif.), seeks to create a clear pathway for domestic nuclear fuel recycling.
Department of Energy Nuclear Transparency Act, introduced by Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), is a bill that looks to increase the transparency related to DOE’s authorization of nuclear facilities. It calls for DOE to publish changes it has made to directives or safety standards and issuance of preliminary and documented safety analyses to its website less than 24 hours after each action is completed.
The subcommittee will additionally discuss three new draft bills: Nuclear Advisory Committee Reform Act, American Enrichment Deployment Act and NRC Staff Pay Alignment Act, during the scheduled hearing.
The Nuclear Advisory Committee Reform Act looks at updating the role of NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards in nuclear licensing and oversight. The American Enrichment Deployment Act seeks to streamline licensing processes for uranium enrichment facilities. NRC Staff Pay Alignment Act would amend the Atomic Energy Act to “provide compensation authority for certain appointees and for other purposes,” according to the bill.