[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 192 (Tuesday, November 2, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7611-S7612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4142. Mr. TUBERVILLE submitted an amendment intended to be 
proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be 
proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal 
year 2022 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for 
military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of 
Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, 
and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as 
follows:

        At the end of subtitle E of title XXXI, add the following:

     SEC. 3157. PRESERVATION AND STORAGE OF URANIUM-233 TO FOSTER 
                   DEVELOPMENT OF THORIUM MOLTEN-SALT REACTORS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Thorium molten-salt reactor technology was originally 
     developed in the

[[Page S7612]]

     United States, primarily at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory 
     in the State of Tennessee.
       (2) Before the cancellation of the program in 1976, the 
     technology developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory was 
     moving steadily toward efficient utilization of the natural 
     thorium energy resource, which exists in substantial amounts 
     in many parts of the United States and around the world.
       (3) The People's Republic of China is known to be pursuing 
     the development of molten salt reactor technology based on a 
     thorium fuel cycle.
       (4) Thorium itself is not fissile, but fertile, and 
     requires a fissile material to begin a nuclear chain 
     reaction.
       (5) Uranium-233, derived from neutron absorption by natural 
     thorium, is the ideal candidate for the fissile component of 
     a thorium reactor, and is the only fissile material candidate 
     that can minimize the production of long-lived transuranic 
     elements, which have proven a great challenge to the geologic 
     disposal of existing spent nuclear fuel.
       (6) Geologic disposal of spent nuclear fuel from 
     conventional nuclear reactors continues to pose severe 
     political and technical challenges, and costs the United 
     States taxpayer more than $500,000,000 annually in court-
     mandated awards to utilities.
       (7) The United States possesses the largest inventory of 
     uranium-233 in the world, aggregated at the Oak Ridge 
     National Laboratory.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) it is in the best economic and national security 
     interests of the United States to resume development of 
     highly efficient thorium molten-salt reactors that can 
     minimize transuranic waste production, in consideration of 
     the pursuit by the People's Republic of China of thorium 
     molten-salt reactors and associated cooperative research 
     agreements with United States national laboratories;
       (2) that the development of highly efficient thorium 
     molten-salt reactors is consistent with section 1261 of the 
     John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
     Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232; 132 Stat. 2060), which 
     declared long-term strategic competition with the People's 
     Republic of China as ``a principal priority for the United 
     States''; and
       (3) to resume such development, it is necessary to preserve 
     as much of the uranium-233 remaining at Oak Ridge National 
     Laboratory as possible.
       (c) Preservation and Storage of Uranium-233.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of Energy shall seek every 
     opportunity to preserve separated uranium-233, with the goal 
     of fostering development of thorium molten-salt reactors by 
     United States industry.
       (2) Downblending and disposal of certain uranium.--The 
     Secretary may provide for the downblending and disposal of 
     uranium-233 determined by industry experts not to be valuable 
     for research and development of thorium molten-salt reactors 
     or technology implementation.
       (d) Interagency Cooperation.--The Secretary of Energy, the 
     Secretary of the Army (including the head of the Army Reactor 
     Office), the Secretary of Transportation, the Tennessee 
     Valley Authority, and other relevant agencies shall--
       (1) work together to expedite transfers of uranium-233 
     under subsection (c); and
       (2) seek the assistance of appropriate industrial entities.
       (e) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy 
     shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report 
     that includes the following:
       (1) Details of the separated U-233 inventory that is most 
     feasible for immediate or near-term transfer.
       (2) The costs of constructing or modifying a suitable 
     category I facility for the secure, permanent storage of the 
     U-233 inventory.
       (3) A pathway for National Asset Material designation.
       (4) A description of the scope for such a facility that 
     would enable secure access to the nuclear material for 
     research and development of thorium fuel cycle reactors, for 
     defense and civilian applications, as well as for medical 
     isotope extraction and processing, including by developing 
     such a facility through public-private partnerships.
       (5) An assessment of whether the Secretary should transfer 
     the ownership of U-233 from the Office of Environmental 
     Management to the Office of Nuclear Energy.
       (6) An assessment of the ability of the Department of 
     Energy to transfer the inventory of U-233 that the Secretary 
     determines is most feasible for immediate or near-term 
     transfer to the Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge, 
     Tennessee, for secure interim storage.
       (7) The feasibility of the National Nuclear Security 
     Administration providing for the secure storage of the 
     inventory of U-233 within the Y-12 National Security Complex 
     or another suitable location within the nuclear security 
     enterprise (as defined in section 4002 of the Atomic Energy 
     Defense Act (50 U.S.C. 2501)).
       (f) No Funding Authorized.--The amount authorized to be 
     appropriated by section 3102 and available as specified in 
     the funding table in section 4701 for the U233 Disposition 
     Program is hereby reduced by $55,000,000.
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