[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 118 (Tuesday, July 11, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2320-S2321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 151. Mr. MANCHIN (for himself and Mr. Risch) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2226, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for military activities
of the Department of
[[Page S2321]]
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 in title XXXI, insert the
following:
SEC. ___. CIVIL NUCLEAR EXPORT ACT OF 2023.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Civil
Nuclear Export Act of 2023''.
(b) Modification of Prohibition on Financing in the Export-
Import Bank of the United States.--Section 2(b)(5) of the
Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635(b)(5)) is
amended, in the first sentence, by inserting ``, except any
purchase that is otherwise permitted under an agreement made
in accordance with section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act of
1954 (42 U.S.C. 2153) or any other applicable law of the
United States,'' after ``(C) the purchase''.
(c) Expansion of Program on China and Transformational
Exports.--Section 2(l)(1)(B) of the Export-Import Bank Act of
1945 (12 U.S.C. 635(l)(1)(B)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating clause (xi) as clause (xii); and
(2) by inserting after clause (x) the following:
``(xi) Civil nuclear facilities, material, and
technologies, and related goods and services that support the
development of an effective nuclear energy sector.''.
(d) Nuclear Liability Coverage.--Section 2 of the Export-
Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(m) Nuclear Liability Coverage.--
``(1) In general.--If there is a claim or judgment against
the Bank relating to bodily injury, death, or damage to or
loss of real or personal property, the Secretary of the
Treasury shall, subject to paragraph (2), pay, from the
general fund of the Treasury such claim or judgment, and
related costs, if--
``(A) such bodily injury, death, or damage to or loss of
real or personal property is determined in a court of
competent jurisdiction to have resulted from a nuclear
incident at a nuclear facility that received financial
support from the Bank; and
``(B) there is no applicable treaty or other arrangement
fully absolving the Bank of liability.
``(2) Maximum amount.--Any claim or judgment, and any
related costs paid in accordance with paragraph (1), to the
extent not otherwise absolved by any applicable treaty or
other arrangement, may not exceed the maximum amount of
financial protection per incident required to cover public
liability claims under section 170(b) of the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(b)).
``(3) Presidential authority to authorize payments.--If the
aggregate amount of claims, judgments, and related costs
resulting from a single nuclear incident exceeds the maximum
amount under paragraph (2), the President--
``(A) may authorize, under such terms and conditions as the
President may direct, the payment of such claims or
judgments, and costs related to such claims or judgments,
from any contingency funds available to the United States
Government; and
``(B) if such funds are insufficient or unavailable, shall
certify such claims or judgments to Congress for
appropriation of the necessary funds.''.
(e) Modification of Lending Cap.--Section 6(a) of the
Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635e(a)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``applicable amount.''
and inserting ``applicable amount, unless the aggregate
amount that is in excess of the applicable amount--
``(A) is attributed by the Bank to loans, guarantees, and
insurance under the Program on China and Transformational
Exports pursuant to section 2(l); and
``(B) does not exceed $50,000,000,000.'';
(2) in paragraph (3)--
(A) in the header, by striking ``2'' and inserting ``4'';
and
(B) by striking ``2 percent'' each place it appears and
inserting ``4 percent''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Authority to attribute loans, guarantees, and
insurance.--The Bank may attribute any loan, guarantee, or
insurance issued under the Program on China and
Transformational Exports pursuant to section 2(l) toward the
aggregate amount that is in excess of the applicable amount
described in paragraph (1) without regard to the date on
which the Bank issued such loan, guarantee, or insurance.''.
(f) Modification of Monitoring of Default Rates.--Section
8(g) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C.
635g(g)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``2 percent'' each place
it appears and inserting ``4 percent'';
(2) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ``2 percent'' and
inserting ``4 percent'';
(3) in paragraph (5)--
(A) in the header, by striking ``2'' and inserting ``4'';
and
(B) by striking ``2 percent'' and inserting ``4 percent'';
(4) in paragraph (6), by striking ``2 percent'' and
inserting ``4 percent''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) Exclusion of transactions relating to the program on
china and transformational exports.--For the purposes of this
subsection, if financing provided under the Program on China
and Transformational Exports pursuant to section 2(l) results
in the default rate calculated under paragraph (1) equaling
or exceeding 4 percent, the Bank may exclude such financing,
subject to the approval of the Board of Directors.''.
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