[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4084 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4084

To enable civilian research and development of advanced nuclear energy 
     technologies by private and public institutions and to expand 
theoretical and practical knowledge of nuclear physics, chemistry, and 
                           materials science.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 19, 2015

 Mr. Weber of Texas (for himself, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, 
Mr. Smith of Texas, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Loudermilk, Mr. Perlmutter, Mrs. 
 Comstock, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Bridenstine, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Hultgren, 
 Mr. Westerman, Mr. Schweikert, Mr. Babin, Mr. Culberson, Mr. Brady of 
 Texas, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Carter of Texas, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Marchant, 
 and Mr. Farenthold) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
           to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To enable civilian research and development of advanced nuclear energy 
     technologies by private and public institutions and to expand 
theoretical and practical knowledge of nuclear physics, chemistry, and 
                           materials science.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Nuclear Energy Innovation 
Capabilities Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Advanced fission reactor.--The term ``advanced fission 
        reactor'' means a nuclear fission reactor with significant 
        improvements over the most recent generation of nuclear 
        reactors, which may include inherent safety features, lower 
        waste yields, greater fuel utilization, superior reliability, 
        resistance to proliferation, and increased thermal efficiency.
            (2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Energy.
            (3) Fast neutron.--The term ``fast neutron'' means a 
        neutron with kinetic energy above 100 kiloelectron volts.
            (4) National laboratory.--The term ``National Laboratory'' 
        has the meaning given that term in paragraph (3) of section 2 
        of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801(3)), except 
        that with respect to subparagraphs (G), (H), and (N) of such 
        paragraph, for purposes of this Act the term includes only the 
        civilian activities thereof.
            (5) Neutron flux.--The term ``neutron flux'' means the 
        intensity of neutron radiation measured as a rate of flow of 
        neutrons applied over an area.
            (6) Neutron source.--The term ``neutron source'' means a 
        research machine that provides neutron irradiation services for 
        research on materials sciences and nuclear physics as well as 
        testing of advanced materials, nuclear fuels, and other related 
        components for reactor systems.
            (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.

SEC. 3. MISSION.

    Section 951(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 
16271(a)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall conduct programs of civilian 
nuclear research, development, demonstration, and commercial 
application, including activities in this subtitle. Such programs shall 
take into consideration the following objectives:
            ``(1) Providing research infrastructure to promote 
        scientific progress and enable users from academia, the 
        National Laboratories, and the private sector to make 
        scientific discoveries relevant for nuclear, chemical, and 
        materials science engineering.
            ``(2) Maintaining National Laboratory and university 
        nuclear energy research and development programs, including 
        their infrastructure.
            ``(3) Providing the technical means to reduce the 
        likelihood of nuclear weapons proliferation and increasing 
        confidence margins for public safety of nuclear energy systems.
            ``(4) Reducing the environmental impact of nuclear energy 
        related activities.
            ``(5) Supporting technology transfer from the National 
        Laboratories to the private sector.
            ``(6) Enabling the private sector to partner with the 
        National Laboratories to demonstrate novel reactor concepts for 
        the purpose of resolving technical uncertainty associated with 
        the aforementioned objectives in this section.''.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that nuclear energy, through 
fission or fusion, represents the highest energy density of any known 
attainable source and yields zero air emissions. This energy source is 
of national importance to scientific progress, national security, 
electricity generation, heat generation for industrial applications, 
and space exploration. Considering the inherent complexity and 
regulatory burden associated with this area of science, the Department 
should focus its civilian nuclear research and development activities 
towards programs that enable the private sector, National Laboratories, 
and universities to carry out such experiments as are necessary to 
promote scientific progress and enhance practical knowledge of nuclear 
engineering.

SEC. 5. HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTATION AND SUPPORTIVE RESEARCH.

    (a) Modeling and Simulation.--The Secretary shall carry out a 
program to enhance the Nation's capabilities to develop new reactor 
technologies through high-performance computation modeling and 
simulation techniques. This program shall coordinate with relevant 
Federal agencies through the National Strategic Computing Initiative 
created under Executive Order 13702 (July 29, 2015) while taking into 
account the following objectives:
            (1) Utilizing expertise from the private sector, 
        universities, and National Laboratories to develop 
        computational software and capabilities that prospective users 
        may access to accelerate research and development of advanced 
        fission reactor systems, nuclear fusion systems, and reactor 
        systems for space exploration.
            (2) Developing computational tools to simulate and predict 
        nuclear phenomena that may be validated through physical 
        experimentation.
            (3) Increasing the utility of the Department's research 
        infrastructure by coordinating with the Advanced Scientific 
        Computing Research program within the Office of Science.
            (4) Leveraging experience from the Energy Innovation Hub 
        for Modeling and Simulation.
            (5) Ensuring that new experimental and computational tools 
        are accessible to relevant research communities.
    (b) Supportive Research Activities.--The Secretary shall consider 
support for additional research activities to maximize the utility of 
its research facilities, including physical processes to simulate 
degradation of materials and behavior of fuel forms and for validation 
of computational tools.

SEC. 6. VERSATILE NEUTRON SOURCE.

    (a) Mission Need.--Not later than December 31, 2016, the Secretary 
shall determine the mission need for a versatile reactor-based fast 
neutron source, which shall operate as a national user facility. During 
this process, the Secretary shall consult with the private sector, 
universities, National Laboratories, and relevant Federal agencies to 
ensure that this user facility will meet the research needs of the 
largest possible majority of prospective users.
    (b) Establishment.--Upon the determination of mission need made 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall, as expeditiously as 
possible, provide to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate a detailed plan for the establishment of the 
user facility.
    (c) Facility Requirements.--
            (1) Capabilities.--The Secretary shall ensure that this 
        user facility will provide, at a minimum, the following 
        capabilities:
                    (A) Fast neutron spectrum irradiation capability.
                    (B) Capacity for upgrades to accommodate new or 
                expanded research needs.
            (2) Considerations.--In carrying out the plan provided 
        under subsection (b), the Secretary shall consider the 
        following:
                    (A) Capabilities that support experimental high-
                temperature testing.
                    (B) Providing a source of fast neutrons at a 
                neutron flux, higher than that at which current 
                research facilities operate, sufficient to enable 
                research for an optimal base of prospective users.
                    (C) Maximizing irradiation flexibility and 
                irradiation volume to accommodate as many concurrent 
                users as possible.
                    (D) Capabilities for irradiation with neutrons of a 
                lower energy spectrum.
                    (E) Multiple loops for fuels and materials testing 
                in different coolants.
                    (F) Additional pre-irradiation and post-irradiation 
                examination capabilities.
    (d) Reporting Progress.--The Department shall, in its annual budget 
requests, provide an explanation for any delay in its progress and 
otherwise make every effort to complete construction and approve the 
start of operations for this facility by December 31, 2025.
    (e) Coordination.--The Secretary shall leverage the best practices 
for management, construction, and operation of national user facilities 
from the Office of Science.

SEC. 7. ENABLING NUCLEAR ENERGY INNOVATION.

    (a) National Reactor Innovation Center.--The Secretary shall carry 
out a program to enable the testing and demonstration of reactor 
concepts to be proposed and funded by the private sector. The Secretary 
shall leverage the technical expertise of relevant Federal agencies and 
National Laboratories in order to minimize the time required to enable 
construction and operation of privately funded experimental reactors at 
National Laboratories or other Department-owned sites while ensuring 
reasonable safety for persons working within these sites. Such reactors 
shall operate to meet the following objectives:
            (1) Enabling physical validation of novel reactor concepts.
            (2) Resolving technical uncertainty and increasing 
        practical knowledge relevant to safety, resilience, security, 
        and functionality of first-of-a-kind reactor concepts.
            (3) General research and development to improve nascent 
        technologies.
    (b) Reporting Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the 
National Laboratories, relevant Federal agencies, and other 
stakeholders, shall transmit to the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources of the Senate a report assessing the Department's 
capabilities to authorize, host, and oversee privately funded fusion 
and advanced fission experimental reactors as described under 
subsection (a). The report shall address the following:
            (1) The Department's safety review and oversight 
        capabilities, including options to leverage expertise from the 
        Nuclear Regulatory Commission and National Laboratories.
            (2) Potential sites capable of hosting activities described 
        under subsection (a).
            (3) The efficacy of the Department's available contractual 
        mechanisms to partner with the private sector and Federal 
        agencies, including cooperative research and development 
        agreements, strategic partnership projects, and agreements for 
        commercializing technology.
            (4) Potential cost structures related to physical security, 
        decommissioning, liability, and other long-term project costs.
            (5) Other challenges or considerations identified by the 
        Secretary.

SEC. 8. BUDGET PLAN.

    Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Department shall transmit to the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources of the Senate 3 alternative 10-year budget plans 
for civilian nuclear energy research and development by the Department. 
The first shall assume constant annual funding for 10 years at the 
appropriated level for the Department's civilian nuclear energy 
research and development for fiscal year 2016. The second shall assume 
2 percent annual increases to the appropriated level for the 
Department's nuclear energy research and development for fiscal year 
2016. The third shall be an unconstrained budget. The 3 plans shall 
include--
            (1) a prioritized list of the Department's programs, 
        projects, and activities to best support the development of 
        next generation nuclear energy technology;
            (2) realistic budget requirements for the Department to 
        implement sections 5, 6, and 7 of this Act; and
            (3) the Department's justification for continuing or 
        terminating existing civilian nuclear energy research and 
        development programs.
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