[House Report 106-695]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




106th Congress                                            Rept. 106-695
                       HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES      
 2d Session                                                   Part 2
_______________________________________________________________________



 
CIVIL PENALTIES ON NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT 
                                OF 1954

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 OF THE

                      COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES

                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                   ON

                               H.R. 3383

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]




 July 21, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed
                   HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
                       One Hundred Sixth Congress

               FLOYD D. SPENCE, South Carolina, Chairman
BOB STUMP, Arizona                   IKE SKELTON, Missouri
DUNCAN HUNTER, California            NORMAN SISISKY, Virginia
JOHN R. KASICH, Ohio                 JOHN M. SPRATT, Jr., South 
HERBERT H. BATEMAN, Virginia             Carolina
JAMES V. HANSEN, Utah                SOLOMON P. ORTIZ, Texas
CURT WELDON, Pennsylvania            OWEN PICKETT, Virginia
JOEL HEFLEY, Colorado                LANE EVANS, Illinois
JIM SAXTON, New Jersey               GENE TAYLOR, Mississippi
STEVE BUYER, Indiana                 NEIL ABERCROMBIE, Hawaii
TILLIE K. FOWLER, Florida            MARTIN T. MEEHAN, Massachusetts
JOHN M. McHUGH, New York             ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD, Guam
JAMES TALENT, Missouri               PATRICK J. KENNEDY, Rhode Island
TERRY EVERETT, Alabama               ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois
ROSCOE G. BARTLETT, Maryland         SILVESTRE REYES, Texas
HOWARD ``BUCK'' McKEON, California   TOM ALLEN, Maine
J.C. WATTS, Jr., Oklahoma            VIC SNYDER, Arkansas
MAC THORNBERRY, Texas                JIM TURNER, Texas
JOHN N. HOSTETTLER, Indiana          ADAM SMITH, Washington
SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia             LORETTA SANCHEZ, California
VAN HILLEARY, Tennessee              JAMES H. MALONEY, Connecticut
JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida             MIKE McINTYRE, North Carolina
WALTER B. JONES, Jr., North          CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ, Texas
    Carolina                         CYNTHIA A. McKINNEY, Georgia
LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina       ELLEN O. TAUSCHER, California
JIM RYUN, Kansas                     ROBERT BRADY, Pennsylvania
BOB RILEY, Alabama                   ROBERT E. ANDREWS, New Jersey
JIM GIBBONS, Nevada                  BARON P. HILL, Indiana
MARY BONO, California                MIKE THOMPSON, California
JOSEPH PITTS, Pennsylvania           JOHN B. LARSON, Connecticut
ROBIN HAYES, North Carolina
STEVEN KUYKENDALL, California
DONALD SHERWOOD, Pennsylvania

                    Robert S. Rangel, Staff Director
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

Purpose and Background...........................................     1
Legislative History..............................................     2
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................     2
  Section 1--Civil Penalties.....................................     2
Committee Position...............................................     3
Fiscal Data......................................................     3
  Congressional Budget Office Estimate...........................     3
  Committee Cost Estimate........................................     4
Oversight Findings...............................................     4
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     4
Statement of Federal Mandates....................................     4
Record Vote......................................................     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     5
                                                                       
106th Congress                                            Rept. 106-695
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                      Part 2

======================================================================




 CIVIL PENALTIES ON NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT 
                                OF 1954

                                _______
                                

 July 21, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Spence, from the Committee on Armed Services, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3383]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Armed Services, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 3383) to amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to 
remove separate treatment or exemption for nuclear safety 
violations by nonprofit institutions, having considered the 
same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend 
that the bill do pass.

                         PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

    The purpose of H.R. 3383 is to repeal the exemption of non-
profit contractors of the Department of Energy (DOE) from civil 
penalties for violations of DOE rules, regulations, and orders 
relating to nuclear safety.
    The Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-
408) amended the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (Public Law 83-703) 
to provide for the establishment of civil penalties for 
contractors of the Department of Energy that violate DOE rules, 
regulations, and orders relating to nuclear safety. The Atomic 
Energy Act, as amended, also provided for an exemption from 
such penalties for the following non-profit and other DOE 
contractors: the University of Chicago (Argonne National 
Laboratory), the University of California (Los Alamos National 
Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and 
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), the American Telephone 
and Telegraph Company (Sandia National Laboratories), the 
Universities Research Association, Inc. (FERMI National 
Laboratory), Princeton University (Princeton Plasma Physics 
Laboratory), Associated Universities, Inc. (Brookhaven National 
Laboratory), and Battelle Memorial Institute (Pacific Northwest 
Laboratory). The Atomic Energy Act, as amended, also authorized 
the Secretary of Energy to provide for the automatic remission 
of assessed civil penalties for all non-profit institutions.
    H.R. 3383 would repeal the authority of the Secretary of 
Energy to grant non-profit institutions an automatic remission 
of any civil penalty assessed for violations of any applicable 
rule, regulation, or order related to nuclear safety issued by 
the Secretary of Energy. H.R. 3383 would also limit any civil 
penalties assessed for violations of such rules, regulations, 
or orders to an amount not to exceed the amount of any 
discretionary fee paid to a non-profit institution by the 
Secretary of Energy under a contract to manage facilities and 
laboratories of the Department of Energy.
    The committee notes that section 2282a(b)(2) of title 42, 
United States Code, requires the Secretary of Energy to take 
into account the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of 
any violations of nuclear safety rules, in concert with the 
ability of the responsible party to pay, the effect of such 
penalties on the ability to continue to do business, the 
history of any prior violations, and the degree of culpability, 
in the determination of the amount of any civil penalty to be 
assessed to a responsible party for such violations. H.R. 3383 
would not disturb the discretionary authority of the Secretary 
to determine the amount of any such civil penalties within the 
limitations otherwise provided by law.
    The committee understands that the discretionary fees 
provided to non-profit contractors by the Department of Energy, 
including, in some cases, funds accumulated from discretionary 
fees awarded in prior years, may be available for the payment 
of civil penalties under the Atomic Energy Act as well as 
penalties imposed by other federal, state, or local entities 
for violations of other laws, rules, or regulations. The 
committee does not intend the repeal of the exemption from 
civil penalties for non-profit institutions contained in H.R. 
3383 to exceed the ability of any non-profit contractor to pay 
such penalties.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 3383 was introduced on November 16, 1999. The bill was 
reported (amended) June 23, 2000 by the House Committee on 
Commerce (H. Rept. 106-695, Part I). The bill was also referred 
to the Committee on Armed Services.
    On June 28, 2000 the Committee on Armed Services held a 
markup session to consider H.R. 3383. The committee adopted the 
bill as reported by the Commerce Committee by a voice vote. The 
bill was reported favorably by a voice vote.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    The following is a section-by-section analysis of the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute adopted by the 
committee.
Section 1--Civil penalties
    This section would amend section 2282a of title 42, United 
States Code, to repeal the authority of the Secretary of Energy 
to grant nonprofit institutions an automatic remission for any 
civil penalties assessed for violations of any applicable rule, 
regulation, or order related to nuclear safety issued by the 
Secretary of Energy. This section would also limit any civil 
penalties assessed for violations of such rules, regulations, 
or orders to an amount not to exceed the amount of any 
discretionary fee paid to a nonprofit institution by the 
Secretary of Energy under a contract to manage facilities and 
laboratories of the Department of Energy.

                           COMMITTEE POSITION

    On June 28, 2000, the Committee on Armed Services, a quorum 
being present, approved H.R. 3383 by a voice vote.

                              FISCAL DATA

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(2)(A) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the committee attempted to 
ascertain annual outlays resulting from the bill during fiscal 
year 2001 and the four following fiscal years. The results of 
such efforts are reflected in the cost estimate prepared by the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 
of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, which is included in 
this report pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House.

                  CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the cost estimate prepared by 
the Congressional Budget Office and submitted pursuant to 
section 402(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is as 
follows:

                                                      July 5, 2000.
Hon. Floyd Spence,
Chairman, Committee on Armed Services,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3383, a bill to 
amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to remove an exemption from 
civil penalties for nuclear safety violations by nonprofit 
institutions.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Lisa Cash 
Driskill.
            Sincerely,
                                          Dan L. Crippen, Director.

H.R. 3383--A bill to amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to remove an 
        exemption from civil penalties for nuclear safety violations by 
        nonprofit institutions

    H.R. 3383 would amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to 
repeal the exemption from civil penalties for nuclear safety 
violations that currently applies to nonprofit institutions 
operating laboratories of the Department of Energy (DOE). Under 
the bill, nonprofit institutions that are operating DOE 
laboratories would be subject to penalties no greater than the 
amount that they are paid by DOE that exceeds their 
reimbursable costs (known as the discretionary fee). Thus, 
enactment of H.R. 3383 could result in an increase in 
governmental receipts, so pay-as-you-go procedures would apply. 
However, CBO estimates that any change in receipts would not be 
significant. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    Currently, several nonprofit institutions (primarily 
universities) are exempt from paying civil penalties, assessed 
under the Price Anderson Act, for nuclear safety violations at 
DOE laboratories. According to DOE's Office of Enforcement and 
Investigation, over the last four years nonprofit contractors 
have been assessed $990,625 in penalties. All of those 
penalties have been waived in accordance with current law. 
Under H.R. 3383, any future penalties would be paid to the 
Treasury. Based on penalties that have been assessed in the 
past, CBO expects that such revenues would be less than 
$250,000 a year.
    On June 7, 2000, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
3383 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Commerce. 
The cost estimates and the two versions of the bill are 
identical.
    The CBO staff contacts are Lisa Cash Driskill (for federal 
costs), and Victoria Heid Hall (for the state and local 
impact). This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                        COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

    Pursuant to clause 3(d) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the committee generally concurs with 
the estimate contained in the report of the Congressional 
Budget Office.

                           OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    With respect to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, this legislation results from 
hearings and other oversight activities conducted by the 
committee pursuant to clause 2(b)(1) of rule X.
    With respect to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives and section 308(a)(1) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this legislation does not 
include any new spending or credit authority, nor does it 
provide for any increase or decrease in tax revenues or 
expenditures. The fiscal features of this legislation are 
addressed in the estimate prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    With respect to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the committee has not received a 
report from the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 
pertaining to the subject matter of H.R. 3383.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the committee finds the authority for 
this legislation in Article I, section 8 of the United States 
Constitution.

                     STATEMENT OF FEDERAL MANDATES

    Pursuant to section 423 of Public Law 104-4, this 
legislation contains no federal mandates with respect to state, 
local, and tribal governments, nor with respect to the private 
sector. Similarly, the bill provides no unfunded federal 
intergovernmental mandates.

                              RECORD VOTE

    In accordance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the committee notes that no 
rollcall votes were taken with respect to H.R. 3383.
    The committee ordered H.R. 3383 reported to the House with 
a favorable recommendation by a voice vote, a quorum being 
present.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  The bill was referred to this committee for consideration of 
such provisions of the bill and amendment as fall within the 
jurisdiction of this committee pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule 
X of the Rules of the House of Representatives. The changes 
made to existing law by the amendment reported by the Committee 
on Commerce are shown in the report filed by that committee 
(Rept. 106-695, Part 1).

                                
106th Congress 
 2d Session             HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES          Rept. 106-695
                                                                 Part 2
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     




CIVIL PENALTIES ON NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT 
                                OF 1954

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 OF THE

                      COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES

                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                   ON

                               H.R. 3383

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]




 July 21, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed
                   HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
                       One Hundred Sixth Congress

               FLOYD D. SPENCE, South Carolina, Chairman
BOB STUMP, Arizona                   IKE SKELTON, Missouri
DUNCAN HUNTER, California            NORMAN SISISKY, Virginia
JOHN R. KASICH, Ohio                 JOHN M. SPRATT, Jr., South 
HERBERT H. BATEMAN, Virginia             Carolina
JAMES V. HANSEN, Utah                SOLOMON P. ORTIZ, Texas
CURT WELDON, Pennsylvania            OWEN PICKETT, Virginia
JOEL HEFLEY, Colorado                LANE EVANS, Illinois
JIM SAXTON, New Jersey               GENE TAYLOR, Mississippi
STEVE BUYER, Indiana                 NEIL ABERCROMBIE, Hawaii
TILLIE K. FOWLER, Florida            MARTIN T. MEEHAN, Massachusetts
JOHN M. McHUGH, New York             ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD, Guam
JAMES TALENT, Missouri               PATRICK J. KENNEDY, Rhode Island
TERRY EVERETT, Alabama               ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois
ROSCOE G. BARTLETT, Maryland         SILVESTRE REYES, Texas
HOWARD ``BUCK'' McKEON, California   TOM ALLEN, Maine
J.C. WATTS, Jr., Oklahoma            VIC SNYDER, Arkansas
MAC THORNBERRY, Texas                JIM TURNER, Texas
JOHN N. HOSTETTLER, Indiana          ADAM SMITH, Washington
SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia             LORETTA SANCHEZ, California
VAN HILLEARY, Tennessee              JAMES H. MALONEY, Connecticut
JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida             MIKE McINTYRE, North Carolina
WALTER B. JONES, Jr., North          CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ, Texas
    Carolina                         CYNTHIA A. McKINNEY, Georgia
LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina       ELLEN O. TAUSCHER, California
JIM RYUN, Kansas                     ROBERT BRADY, Pennsylvania
BOB RILEY, Alabama                   ROBERT E. ANDREWS, New Jersey
JIM GIBBONS, Nevada                  BARON P. HILL, Indiana
MARY BONO, California                MIKE THOMPSON, California
JOSEPH PITTS, Pennsylvania           JOHN B. LARSON, Connecticut
ROBIN HAYES, North Carolina
STEVEN KUYKENDALL, California
DONALD SHERWOOD, Pennsylvania

                    Robert S. Rangel, Staff Director
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

Purpose and Background...........................................     1
Legislative History..............................................     2
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................     2
  Section 1--Civil Penalties.....................................     2
Committee Position...............................................     3
Fiscal Data......................................................     3
  Congressional Budget Office Estimate...........................     3
  Committee Cost Estimate........................................     4
Oversight Findings...............................................     4
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     4
Statement of Federal Mandates....................................     4
Record Vote......................................................     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     5
                                                                       
106th Congress                                            Rept. 106-695
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                      Part 2

======================================================================




 CIVIL PENALTIES ON NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT 
                                OF 1954

                                _______
                                

 July 21, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Spence, from the Committee on Armed Services, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3383]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Armed Services, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 3383) to amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to 
remove separate treatment or exemption for nuclear safety 
violations by nonprofit institutions, having considered the 
same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend 
that the bill do pass.

                         PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

    The purpose of H.R. 3383 is to repeal the exemption of non-
profit contractors of the Department of Energy (DOE) from civil 
penalties for violations of DOE rules, regulations, and orders 
relating to nuclear safety.
    The Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-
408) amended the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (Public Law 83-703) 
to provide for the establishment of civil penalties for 
contractors of the Department of Energy that violate DOE rules, 
regulations, and orders relating to nuclear safety. The Atomic 
Energy Act, as amended, also provided for an exemption from 
such penalties for the following non-profit and other DOE 
contractors: the University of Chicago (Argonne National 
Laboratory), the University of California (Los Alamos National 
Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and 
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), the American Telephone 
and Telegraph Company (Sandia National Laboratories), the 
Universities Research Association, Inc. (FERMI National 
Laboratory), Princeton University (Princeton Plasma Physics 
Laboratory), Associated Universities, Inc. (Brookhaven National 
Laboratory), and Battelle Memorial Institute (Pacific Northwest 
Laboratory). The Atomic Energy Act, as amended, also authorized 
the Secretary of Energy to provide for the automatic remission 
of assessed civil penalties for all non-profit institutions.
    H.R. 3383 would repeal the authority of the Secretary of 
Energy to grant non-profit institutions an automatic remission 
of any civil penalty assessed for violations of any applicable 
rule, regulation, or order related to nuclear safety issued by 
the Secretary of Energy. H.R. 3383 would also limit any civil 
penalties assessed for violations of such rules, regulations, 
or orders to an amount not to exceed the amount of any 
discretionary fee paid to a non-profit institution by the 
Secretary of Energy under a contract to manage facilities and 
laboratories of the Department of Energy.
    The committee notes that section 2282a(b)(2) of title 42, 
United States Code, requires the Secretary of Energy to take 
into account the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of 
any violations of nuclear safety rules, in concert with the 
ability of the responsible party to pay, the effect of such 
penalties on the ability to continue to do business, the 
history of any prior violations, and the degree of culpability, 
in the determination of the amount of any civil penalty to be 
assessed to a responsible party for such violations. H.R. 3383 
would not disturb the discretionary authority of the Secretary 
to determine the amount of any such civil penalties within the 
limitations otherwise provided by law.
    The committee understands that the discretionary fees 
provided to non-profit contractors by the Department of Energy, 
including, in some cases, funds accumulated from discretionary 
fees awarded in prior years, may be available for the payment 
of civil penalties under the Atomic Energy Act as well as 
penalties imposed by other federal, state, or local entities 
for violations of other laws, rules, or regulations. The 
committee does not intend the repeal of the exemption from 
civil penalties for non-profit institutions contained in H.R. 
3383 to exceed the ability of any non-profit contractor to pay 
such penalties.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 3383 was introduced on November 16, 1999. The bill was 
reported (amended) June 23, 2000 by the House Committee on 
Commerce (H. Rept. 106-695, Part I). The bill was also referred 
to the Committee on Armed Services.
    On June 28, 2000 the Committee on Armed Services held a 
markup session to consider H.R. 3383. The committee adopted the 
bill as reported by the Commerce Committee by a voice vote. The 
bill was reported favorably by a voice vote.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    The following is a section-by-section analysis of the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute adopted by the 
committee.
Section 1--Civil penalties
    This section would amend section 2282a of title 42, United 
States Code, to repeal the authority of the Secretary of Energy 
to grant nonprofit institutions an automatic remission for any 
civil penalties assessed for violations of any applicable rule, 
regulation, or order related to nuclear safety issued by the 
Secretary of Energy. This section would also limit any civil 
penalties assessed for violations of such rules, regulations, 
or orders to an amount not to exceed the amount of any 
discretionary fee paid to a nonprofit institution by the 
Secretary of Energy under a contract to manage facilities and 
laboratories of the Department of Energy.

                           COMMITTEE POSITION

    On June 28, 2000, the Committee on Armed Services, a quorum 
being present, approved H.R. 3383 by a voice vote.

                              FISCAL DATA

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(2)(A) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the committee attempted to 
ascertain annual outlays resulting from the bill during fiscal 
year 2001 and the four following fiscal years. The results of 
such efforts are reflected in the cost estimate prepared by the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 
of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, which is included in 
this report pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House.

                  CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the cost estimate prepared by 
the Congressional Budget Office and submitted pursuant to 
section 402(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is as 
follows:

                                                      July 5, 2000.
Hon. Floyd Spence,
Chairman, Committee on Armed Services,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3383, a bill to 
amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to remove an exemption from 
civil penalties for nuclear safety violations by nonprofit 
institutions.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Lisa Cash 
Driskill.
            Sincerely,
                                          Dan L. Crippen, Director.

H.R. 3383--A bill to amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to remove an 
        exemption from civil penalties for nuclear safety violations by 
        nonprofit institutions

    H.R. 3383 would amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to 
repeal the exemption from civil penalties for nuclear safety 
violations that currently applies to nonprofit institutions 
operating laboratories of the Department of Energy (DOE). Under 
the bill, nonprofit institutions that are operating DOE 
laboratories would be subject to penalties no greater than the 
amount that they are paid by DOE that exceeds their 
reimbursable costs (known as the discretionary fee). Thus, 
enactment of H.R. 3383 could result in an increase in 
governmental receipts, so pay-as-you-go procedures would apply. 
However, CBO estimates that any change in receipts would not be 
significant. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    Currently, several nonprofit institutions (primarily 
universities) are exempt from paying civil penalties, assessed 
under the Price Anderson Act, for nuclear safety violations at 
DOE laboratories. According to DOE's Office of Enforcement and 
Investigation, over the last four years nonprofit contractors 
have been assessed $990,625 in penalties. All of those 
penalties have been waived in accordance with current law. 
Under H.R. 3383, any future penalties would be paid to the 
Treasury. Based on penalties that have been assessed in the 
past, CBO expects that such revenues would be less than 
$250,000 a year.
    On June 7, 2000, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
3383 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Commerce. 
The cost estimates and the two versions of the bill are 
identical.
    The CBO staff contacts are Lisa Cash Driskill (for federal 
costs), and Victoria Heid Hall (for the state and local 
impact). This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                        COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

    Pursuant to clause 3(d) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the committee generally concurs with 
the estimate contained in the report of the Congressional 
Budget Office.

                           OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    With respect to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, this legislation results from 
hearings and other oversight activities conducted by the 
committee pursuant to clause 2(b)(1) of rule X.
    With respect to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives and section 308(a)(1) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this legislation does not 
include any new spending or credit authority, nor does it 
provide for any increase or decrease in tax revenues or 
expenditures. The fiscal features of this legislation are 
addressed in the estimate prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    With respect to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the committee has not received a 
report from the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 
pertaining to the subject matter of H.R. 3383.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the committee finds the authority for 
this legislation in Article I, section 8 of the United States 
Constitution.

                     STATEMENT OF FEDERAL MANDATES

    Pursuant to section 423 of Public Law 104-4, this 
legislation contains no federal mandates with respect to state, 
local, and tribal governments, nor with respect to the private 
sector. Similarly, the bill provides no unfunded federal 
intergovernmental mandates.

                              RECORD VOTE

    In accordance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the committee notes that no 
rollcall votes were taken with respect to H.R. 3383.
    The committee ordered H.R. 3383 reported to the House with 
a favorable recommendation by a voice vote, a quorum being 
present.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  The bill was referred to this committee for consideration of 
such provisions of the bill and amendment as fall within the 
jurisdiction of this committee pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule 
X of the Rules of the House of Representatives. The changes 
made to existing law by the amendment reported by the Committee 
on Commerce are shown in the report filed by that committee 
(Rept. 106-695, Part 1).

                                
