Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
The nuclear industry hasn't had quite the landmark year on the Hill that it wanted — but the first few months of 2024 could be hugely important for its future.
Why it matters: Nuclear has made bipartisan inroads in Congress and on the international stage, with a commitment at COP28 to triple capacity by 2050.
- Lawmakers are moving surprisingly quickly through a legislative to-do list that the industry hopes can bring on its long-sought renaissance.
Driving the news: The defense authorization bill that the House sent to President Biden's desk this morning includes legislation to bolster domestic supply chains of enriched uranium for both conventional and advanced nuclear reactors.
- The House also passed legislation by voice vote this week to ban Russian uranium imports (with waivers allowed through 2027).
- But it's currently getting held up in the Senate, and lawmakers couldn't get the ADVANCE Act into the final NDAA. Plus, the industry still wants money in a supplemental to shore up uranium supply.
- Now, the Senate Environment and Public Works and House Energy and Commerce staffs have begun talks on a bipartisan deal to overhaul Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing.
Together, these bills could chip away at a twofold problem the industry faces: tiny domestic uranium production capacity and a lengthy regulatory process to get new reactors online.
What they're saying: "We're having good conversations at the member level, bipartisan conversations, and at the staff level," EPW Chair Tom Carper told Axios.
- "There's more than a little bit of common ground that we struck in the ADVANCE Act and what the Energy and Commerce Committee reported out."
Between the lines: Reps. Jeff Duncan and Diana DeGette, House sponsors of the Atomic Energy Advancement Act, are pushing for a regular-order process, in which both chambers pass bills and go to conference.
- That feels … unlikely in the current political environment.
- But Duncan voted against the NDAA and doesn't like "Christmas tree" legislation.
- "I would probably fight back against some sort of addition to another piece of legislation," he told Axios.
Zoom in: Both bills would reduce licensing fees for advanced reactors, bolster the NRC's workforce and speed siting of nuclear facilities at former brownfield sites.
- One thing to watch: The Senate bill would authorize money for legacy mining cleanup on tribal lands. It's a priority across party lines in the Senate that's notably absent in the House legislation.
- Still, many provisions are nearly identical. One Senate aide told Axios that much of the negotiation will be sorting out committee jurisdictional differences between the House and Senate.
Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz appears to be blocking quick passage of the Russian uranium ban over an unrelated policy issue, as Bloomberg first reported.
- Senate supporters had been hoping to send the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act to Biden by unanimous consent before year's end.
- Duncan said conversations are taking place between Cruz and House E&C.
- Cruz's office suggested he doesn't oppose the bill's substance: "We don't comment on negotiations between members, but Sen. Cruz is strongly committed to curtailing Russia's ability to use nuclear energy as a geopolitical tool," a spokesperson said.
- Still, it leaves the legislation in near-term limbo.
Reality check: Waste is a massive unsolved issue, and the NuScale project cancellation reflected some of the financial problems that have prevented new reactor development in the U.S. for years.
- Even if lawmakers can move all this legislation, there's still a long road to that 2050 target.
