The House of Representatives passed all six nuclear energy-related bills this week that address varying facets of the nuclear fuel cycle in an effort to streamline licensing and construct more nuclear capacity.
On the first day back following the midterm election, six nuclear energy bills hit the House floor after advancing out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in September. The legislation will move to the Senate for committee review.
On Monday, the Nuclear REFUEL (Recycling Efficient Fuels Utilizing Expedited Licensing) Act, which would make it easier to license certain spent fuel reprocessing facilities, passed out of the House in a resounding 397 – 2 vote. The American Enrichment Deployment Act, that seeks to accelerate licensing for uranium enrichment facilities, also sailed through a 394 – 3 vote.
Additionally, these bills were passed by voice votes during Monday’s session:
- The NRC Staff Pay Alignment Act, which aims to amend the Atomic Energy Act to provide compensation authority for certain positions and roles. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced this bill.
- The Nuclear Advisory Committee Reform Act, a bill that seeks to update the role of NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards in nuclear licensing and oversight. Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) introduced this bill.
On Wednesday, the Department of Energy Nuclear Transparency Act, a bill that seeks more openness from DOE on its work at nuclear facilities, and the Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act, a bill that would codify Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s ability to forgo a hearing when a license application is uncontested, were passed by a voice vote.
Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) introduced the DOE transparency bill, while Reps. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Schrier and Marc Veasey (D-Texas) introduced the nuclear licensing hearings bill.
During Monday’s House floor debate, Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.), one of the sponsors of the American Enrichment Deployment Act, said the bill aims to amend licensing procedures for specifically uranium enrichment. He added this change would not affect the safeguards in the licensing process, but will reduce time and costs needed to construct the uranium enrichment facilities.
“This legislation does not weaken the NRC’s responsibility to protect public health and safety,” Fry said. “It simply removes the unnecessary barrier of this licensing process at a time when our country is working, working to strengthen our nuclear energy capability, we should ensure that outdated regulations do not stand in the way of private sector investment and innovation.”
Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), the other sponsor of the bill, said the uranium enrichment bill will help address a national security matter, without hurting nuclear safety standards. Schrier said Russia operates half of the world’s uranium enrichment capability, while the U.S. has one operating such facility.
“Licensing process can take years, and any delays in licensing or construction leave us just further behind in building our enrichment capacity and bringing nuclear energy to market,” Schrier said. “It is time to lower costs and build out more energy resources while lowering emissions. our energy, our constituents are demanding it, and our country needs it. It’s a national security issue.”
In a June Energy and Commerce’s energy subcommittee hearing, several industry representatives told the Congress panel the American Enrichment Deployment Act was the most important legislation piece among the six bills discussed. ClearPath CEO Jeremy Harrell said the bill was pivotal due to its timely nature of building out more enrichment capabilities before the Russian uranium goes into effect.
In 2024, the Joe Biden administration signed a law that would not allow U.S. companies to import unirradiated low-enriched uranium from Russia or from a Russian entity. While importers could get a waiver from the DOE until Dec. 31, 2027, the ban goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2028.
Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), chair of the House Energy and Commerce’s energy subcommittee, spoke on the House bills’ and praised the effort to grow the domestic nuclear industry. Latta and other supporters also said the bills will update licensing for advanced nuclear technologies.
Latta and Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) sponsored the Nuclear REFUEL Act.
