[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 201 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8514-S8515]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4825. Mr. BARRASSO 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 appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. _____. HA-LEU FOR ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTORS.
Section 2001 of the Energy Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 16281) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (D)--
(I) in clause (v)(III), by adding ``or'' after the
semicolon at the end;
(II) by striking clause (vi); and
(III) by redesignating clause (vii) as clause (vi); and
(ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``for domestic
commercial use'' and inserting ``to meet the needs of
commercial, government, academic, and international
entities''; and
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as paragraphs
(8) and (6), respectively, and moving the paragraphs so as to
appear in numerical order;
(2) in subsection (b)(2)--
(A) by striking ``subsection (a)(1)'' each place it appears
and inserting ``subsection (b)(1)'';
(B) in subparagraph (B)(viii), by striking ``subsection
(a)(2)(F)'' and inserting ``subsection (b)(2)(F)''; and
(C) in subparagraph (D)(vi), by striking ``subsection
(a)(2)(A)'' and inserting ``subsection (b)(2)(A)'';
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5) as
subparagraphs (A) through (E), respectively, and indenting
appropriately; and
(B) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) (as so
redesignated)--
(i) by striking ``There are'' and inserting the following:
``(7) Authorization of appropriations.--There are''; and
(ii) by striking ``in this section'' and inserting ``under
this subsection'';
(4) in subsection (d)--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) as
paragraphs (2), (3), (5), (6), (7), and (8), respectively;
(B) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so redesignated)
the following:
``(1) Advanced nuclear reactor.--The term `advanced nuclear
reactor' has the meaning given the term in section 951(b) of
the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271(b)).''; and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (3) (as so redesignated)
the following:
``(4) Department.--The term `Department' means the
Department of Energy.'';
(5) by moving paragraph (7) of subsection (c) (as
designated by paragraph (3)(B)(i)) so as to appear after
paragraph (6) of subsection (a) (as redesignated by paragraph
(1)(B));
(6) by striking subsection (c);
(7) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), and (d) as
subsections (b), (g), and (a), respectively, and moving the
subsections so as to appear in alphabetical order; and
(8) by inserting after subsection (b) (as so redesignated)
the following:
``(c) HA-LEU for Advanced Nuclear Reactor Demonstration
Projects.--
``(1) Activities.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2022, the Secretary shall initiate activities to
make available HA-LEU, produced from inventories owned by the
Department, for use by advanced nuclear reactors, with
priority given to the awards made pursuant to the funding
opportunity announcement of the Department numbered DE-FOA-
0002271 for Pathway 1, Advanced Reactor Demonstrations, with
additional HA-LEU to be made available to members of the
consortium established under subsection (b)(2)(F), as
available.
``(2) Ownership.--HA-LEU made available under this
subsection--
``(A) shall remain the property of, and title shall remain
with, the Department; and
``(B) shall not be subject to the requirements of section
3112(d)(2) and 3113 of the USEC Privatization Act (42 U.S.C.
2297h-10(d)(2), 2297h-11).
``(3) Quantity.--In carrying out activities under this
subsection, the Secretary, to the maximum extent practicable,
shall make available--
``(A) by September 30, 2024, not less than 3 metric tons of
HA-LEU; and
``(B) by December 31, 2025, not less than an additional 15
metric tons of HA-LEU.
``(4) Factors for consideration.--In carrying out
activities under this subsection, the Secretary shall take
into consideration--
``(A) options for providing HA-LEU from a stockpile of
uranium owned by the Department (including the National
Nuclear Security Administration), including--
[[Page S8515]]
``(i) fuel that--
``(I) directly meets the needs of the end-users described
in paragraph (1); but
``(II) has been previously used or fabricated for another
purpose;
``(ii) fuel that can meet the needs of the end-users
described in paragraph (1) after removing radioactive or
other contaminants that resulted from a previous use or
fabrication of the fuel for research, development,
demonstration, or deployment activities of the Department
(including activities of the National Nuclear Security
Administration);
``(iii) fuel from a high-enriched uranium stockpile, which
can be blended with lower assay uranium to become HA-LEU to
meet the needs of the end-users described in paragraph (1);
and
``(iv) fuel from uranium stockpiles intended for other
purposes, but for which material could be swapped or replaced
in time in such a manner that would not negatively impact the
missions of the Department;
``(B) options for providing HA-LEU from domestically
enriched HA-LEU procured by the Department through a
competitive process pursuant to the HA-LEU Bank established
under subsection (d)(3)(C); and
``(C) options to replenish, as needed, Department
stockpiles of uranium made available pursuant to subparagraph
(A) with domestically enriched HA-LEU procured by the
Department through a competitive process pursuant to the HA-
LEU Bank established under subsection (d)(3)(C).
``(5) Limitation.--The Secretary shall not barter or
otherwise sell or transfer uranium in any form in exchange
for services relating to--
``(A) the final disposition of radioactive waste from
uranium that is the subject of a contract for sale, resale,
transfer, or lease under this subsection; or
``(B) environmental cleanup activities.
``(6) Appropriations.--In addition to amounts otherwise
made available, there is appropriated to the Secretary to
carry out this subsection, out of any amounts in the Treasury
not otherwise appropriated, $200,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2022 through 2026.
``(7) Sunset.--The authority of the Secretary to carry out
activities under this subsection shall terminate on the
earlier of--
``(A) September 30, 2027; and
``(B) the date on which the HA-LEU needs of the end-users
described in paragraph (1) can be fully met by commercial
enrichers in the United States.
``(d) Commercial HA-LEU Availability.--
``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2022, the Secretary shall establish a program
(referred to in this subsection as the `program') to
accelerate the availability of commercially produced HA-LEU
in the United States in accordance with this subsection.
``(2) Purposes.--The purposes of the program are--
``(A) to provide for the availability of HA-LEU enriched,
deconverted, and fabricated in the United States;
``(B) to address nuclear supply chain issues in the United
States; and
``(C) to support strategic nuclear fuel cycle capabilities
in the United States.
``(3) Considerations.--In carrying out the program, the
Secretary shall consider and, as appropriate, execute--
``(A) options to establish, through a competitive process,
a commercial HA-LEU production capability of not less than 20
metric tons of HA-LEU per year by--
``(i) December 31, 2026; or
``(ii) the earliest operationally feasible date thereafter;
``(B) options that provide for an array of HA-LEU--
``(i) enrichment levels;
``(ii) output levels to meet demand; and
``(iii) fuel forms; and
``(C) options to establish, through a competitive process,
a HA-LEU Bank--
``(i) to replenish Department stockpiles of material used
in carrying out activities under subsection (c); and
``(ii) after replenishing those stockpiles, to make HA-LEU
available to members of the consortium established under
subsection (b)(2)(F).
``(4) Appropriations.--In addition to amounts otherwise
made available, there is appropriated to the Secretary to
carry out this subsection, out of any amounts in the Treasury
not otherwise appropriated, $150,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2022 through 2031.
``(e) Cost Recovery.--
``(1) In general.--In carrying out activities under
subsections (c) and (d), the Secretary shall ensure that any
HA-LEU acquired, provided, or made available under those
subsections for members of the consortium established under
subsection (b)(2)(F) is subject to cost recovery in
accordance with subsection (b)(2)(G).
``(2) Availability of certain funds.--Notwithstanding
section 3302 of title 31, United States Code, revenues
received from the sale or transfer of fuel feed material and
other activities related to making HA-LEU available pursuant
to this section--
``(A) shall be available to the Department for carrying out
the purposes of this section, to reduce the need for further
appropriations for those purposes; and
``(B) shall remain available until expended.
``(f) Exclusion.--In carrying out activities under this
section, the Secretary shall not make available, or provide
funding for, uranium that is recovered, downblended,
converted, or enriched by an entity that--
``(1) is owned or controlled by the Government of the
Russian Federation or the Government of the People's Republic
of China; or
``(2) is organized under the laws of, or otherwise subject
to the jurisdiction of, the Russian Federation or the
People's Republic of China.''.
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