I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1748 

To assess and improve the competitiveness of American civilian nuclear commerce, to expedite Department of Energy review of certain nuclear technology exports, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 10, 2021 

Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio (for himself and Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a 

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To assess and improve the competitiveness of American civilian nuclear commerce, to expedite Department of Energy 

review of certain nuclear technology exports, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Amer5 ican Nuclear Competitiveness Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. COMPETITIVENESS OF NUCLEAR COMMERCE. 

2 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

3 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall 

4 develop and submit to Congress a report on United States 

5 civilian nuclear commerce. 

6 (b) CONSULTATION.—In developing the report re7 quired under subsection (a), the Secretary of Energy shall 

8 consult with— 

9 (1) the Secretary of State; 

10 (2) the Secretary of Commerce; 

11 (3) the Administrator of the Environmental 

12 Protection Agency; and 

13 (4) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

14 (c) CONTENTS.—The report required under sub15 section (a) shall include— 

16 (1) an assessment of— 

17 (A) legal and regulatory requirements and 

18 policies of, and commercial practices in, the 

19 United States with respect to the civilian nu20 clear industry of the United States; 

21 (B) the effects of such practices on such 

22 civilian nuclear industry in domestic and for23 eign commerce; 

24 (C) the role of emerging United States nu25 clear technologies and applications of such techVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1748.IH H1748

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1 nologies, including nonelectric applications of 

2 those technologies; and 

3 (D) the effects of advanced manufacturing 

4 and construction methods for nuclear tech5 nologies on the costs of such technologies and 

6 the civilian nuclear industry of the United 

7 States; 

8 (2) a comparison of the matters assessed in 

9 paragraph (1) with respect to the United States to 

10 an assessment of such matters as they apply with 

11 respect to foreign countries; 

12 (3) recommendations to improve the competi13 tiveness of United States civilian nuclear commerce; 

14 and 

15 (4) recommendations relating to the application 

16 of section 170 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 

17 (42 U.S.C. 2210) with respect to advanced nuclear 

18 technologies. 

19 SEC. 3. EXPEDITING NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY EXPORTS. 

20 (a) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.—Section 57 of the 

21 Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2077) is amended 

22 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(f) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—In carrying out sub25 section b.(2), the Secretary of Energy shall establish 


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1 procedures for expedited consideration of requests 

2 for authorizations regarding the transfer of a tech3 nology that involves a low-proliferation-risk reactor 

4 activity described in paragraph (2) of this subsection 

5 to a foreign country described in paragraph (3) of 

6 this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—A low-proliferation-risk reac8 tor activity described in this paragraph is an activity 

9 that meets each of following criteria: 

10 ‘‘(A) The activity is listed in section 

11 810.2(b) of title 10, Code of Federal Regula12 tions, as in effect on the date of enactment of 

13 this Act. 

14 ‘‘(B) The activity is not an activity requir15 ing a specific authorization pursuant to section 

16 810.7(c) of such title, as in effect on such date. 

17 ‘‘(C) The Secretary determines that the 

18 transfer (or retransfer) of a technology that in19 volves the activity will not result in a significant 

20 increase of the risk of proliferation beyond such 

21 risk that exists at the time that the authoriza22 tion is requested. 

23 ‘‘(3) FOREIGN COUNTRIES.—A foreign country 

24 described in this paragraph is a foreign country— 


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1 ‘‘(A) that is not a nuclear-weapon State, as 

2 defined by Article IX of the Treaty on the Non3 Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, signed at 

4 Washington, London, and Moscow on July 1, 

5 1968, other than the United Kingdom or 

6 France; and 

7 ‘‘(B) with respect to which the Secretary 

8 determines under subsection b.(2) that a trans9 fer to the country of a technology that involves 

10 a low-proliferation-risk reactor activity de11 scribed in paragraph (2) of this subsection will 

12 not be inimical to the interest of the United 

13 States. 

14 ‘‘(4) CONCURRENCE AND CONSULTATION.—The 

15 Secretary of Energy shall establish the procedures 

16 under paragraph (1) with the concurrence of the De17 partment of State and after consultation with the 

18 Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of 

19 Commerce, and the Department of Defense. 

20 ‘‘(5) TIMING AND AVAILABILITY.—The proce21 dures established under paragraph (1) shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) ensure that each request is approved 

23 or denied by not later than 45 days after the 

24 later of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the date on which the foreign 

2 country transmits any required assurances 

3 to the Department of State; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the inter5 agency review under subsection b. is com6 pleted; and 

7 ‘‘(B) be publicly available.’’. 

8 (b) ASSURANCES.—Section 57(b) of such Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 2077(b)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘mecha10 nisms.’’ the following new sentence: ‘‘To the extent prac11 ticable, the Secretary of Energy shall continue to process 

12 such requests during such interagency review in a manner 

13 that enables the Secretary to make such determination as 

14 soon as practicable after the receipt of assurances by a 

15 foreign country to the Department of State, if any such 

16 assurances are required.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. LICENSING DOMESTIC NUCLEAR PROJECTS IN 

18 WHICH UNITED STATES ALLIES INVEST. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The prohibitions against issuing 

20 certain licenses for utilization facilities to certain corpora21 tions and other entities described in the second sentence 

22 of section 103 d. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42. 

23 U.S.C. 2133(d)) and the second sentence of section 104 

24 d. of that Act (42 U.S.C. 2134(d)) shall not apply to an 

25 entity described in subsection (b) of this section if the NuVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1748.IH H1748

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1 clear Regulatory Commission determines that issuance of 

2 the applicable license to that entity is not inimical to— 

3 (1) the common defense and security; or 

4 (2) the health and safety of the public. 

5 (b) ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—An entity described in 

6 this subsection is a corporation or other entity that is 

7 owned, controlled, or dominated by— 

8 (1) the government of— 

9 (A) a country that is a member of the 

10 Group of Seven as of November 25, 2020, 

11 which includes the United Kingdom, Germany, 

12 Canada, Japan, France, and Italy; or 

13 (B) the Republic of Korea; 

14 (2) a corporation that is incorporated in a 

15 country described in paragraph (1); or 

16 (3) an alien who is a national of a country de17 scribed in paragraph (1). 

18 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 103 d. of the 

19 Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2133(d)) is 

20 amended, in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘any any’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘any’’. 

22 (d) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section af23 fects the requirements of section 721 of the Defense Pro24 duction Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4565). 


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1 SEC. 5. LICENSING CONSIDERATIONS RELATING TO USE OF 

2 NUCLEAR ENERGY FOR NONELECTRIC APPLI3 CATIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Nuclear Regulatory 

6 Commission (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Commis7 sion’’) shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Com8 merce of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

9 on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report 

10 addressing any unique licensing issues or requirements re11 lating to— 

12 (1) the flexible operation of advanced nuclear 

13 reactors, such as ramping power output and switch14 ing between electricity generation and nonelectric 

15 applications; 

16 (2) the use of advanced nuclear reactors exclu17 sively for nonelectric applications; and 

18 (3) the collocation of advanced nuclear reactors 

19 with industrial plants or other facilities. 

20 (b) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.—In developing the report, 

21 the Commission shall seek input from— 

22 (1) the Secretary of Energy; 

23 (2) the nuclear energy industry; 

24 (3) technology developers; 

25 (4) the industrial, chemical, and medical sec26 tors; 


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1 (5) nongovernmental organizations; and 

2 (6) other public stakeholders. 

3 (c) CONTENTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The report shall describe— 

5 (A) any unique licensing issues or require6 ments relating to the matters described in para7 graphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a), in8 cluding, with respect to the nonelectric applica9 tions referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) of 

10 that subsection, any licensing issues or require11 ments relating to the use of nuclear energy— 

12 (i) for hydrogen or other liquid and 

13 gaseous fuel or chemical production; 

14 (ii) for water desalination and waste15 water treatment; 

16 (iii) for heat used in industrial proc17 esses; 

18 (iv) for district heating; 

19 (v) in relation to energy storage; 

20 (vi) for industrial or medical isotope 

21 production; and 

22 (vii) other applications, as identified 

23 by the Commission; 

24 (B) options for addressing those issues or 

25 requirements— 


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1 (i) within the existing regulatory 

2 framework; 

3 (ii) through the technology-inclusive, 

4 regulatory framework to be established 

5 under section 103(a)(4) of the Nuclear En6 ergy Innovation and Modernization Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 2133 note; Public Law 115–439); 

8 or 

9 (iii) through a new rulemaking; 

10 (C) the extent to which Commission action 

11 is needed to implement any matter described in 

12 the report; and 

13 (D) cost estimates, proposed budgets, and 

14 proposed timeframes for implementing risk-in15 formed and performance-based regulatory guid16 ance for licensing advanced nuclear reactors for 

17 nonelectric applications. 

18 SEC. 6. REPORT ON ADVANCED METHODS OF MANUFAC19 TURING AND CONSTRUCTION FOR NUCLEAR 

20 ENERGY PROJECTS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Nuclear Regulatory 

23 Commission (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Commis24 sion’’) shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Com25 merce of the House of Representatives and the Committee 


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1 on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report 

2 on manufacturing and construction for nuclear energy 

3 projects. 

4 (b) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.—In developing the report, 

5 the Commission shall seek input from— 

6 (1) the Secretary of Energy; 

7 (2) the nuclear energy industry; 

8 (3) the National Laboratories; 

9 (4) institutions of higher education; 

10 (5) nuclear and manufacturing technology de11 velopers; 

12 (6) the manufacturing and construction indus13 tries; 

14 (7) standards development organizations; 

15 (8) labor unions; 

16 (9) nongovernmental organizations; and 

17 (10) other public stakeholders. 

18 (c) CONTENTS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The report shall— 

20 (A) examine any unique licensing issues or 

21 requirements relating to the use of— 

22 (i) advanced manufacturing tech23 niques; and 

24 (ii) advanced construction techniques; 

25 (B) examine— 


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1 (i) the requirements for nuclear-grade 

2 components in manufacturing and con3 struction for nuclear energy projects; 

4 (ii) opportunities to use standard ma5 terials, parts, or components in manufac6 turing and construction for nuclear energy 

7 applications; and 

8 (iii) opportunities to use standard ma9 terials that are in compliance with existing 

10 codes to provide acceptable approaches to 

11 support or encapsulate new materials that 

12 do not yet have applicable codes; 

13 (C) identify safety aspects of advanced 

14 manufacturing processes and advanced con15 struction techniques that are not addressed by 

16 existing codes and standards, so that generic 

17 guidance may be updated or created as nec18 essary by the Commission; 

19 (D) identify options for addressing the 

20 issues, requirements, and opportunities exam21 ined under subparagraphs (A) and (B)— 

22 (i) within the existing regulatory 

23 framework; or 

24 (ii) through a new rulemaking; and 


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1 (E) describe the extent to which Commis2 sion action is needed to implement any matter 

3 described in the report. 

4 (2) COST ESTIMATES, BUDGETS, AND TIME5 FRAMES.—The report shall include cost estimates, 

6 proposed budgets, and proposed timeframes for im7 plementing risk-informed and performance-based 

8 regulatory guidance for advanced manufacturing and 

9 construction of nuclear energy projects. 

10 SEC. 7. RISK POOLING PROGRAM ASSESSMENT. 

11 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

13 carry out a review of, and submit to the Committee on 

14 Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

15 and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of 

16 the Senate a report on, the Secretary of Energy’s actions 

17 with respect to the program described in section 934(e) 

18 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 

19 U.S.C. 17373(e)). 

20 (b) CONTENTS.—The report described in subsection 

21 (a) shall include— 

22 (1) an evaluation of the Secretary of Energy’s 

23 actions to determine the risk-informed assessment 

24 formula under section 934(e)(2)(C) of the Energy 


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1 Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 

2 17373(e)(2)(C)); and 

3 (2) a review of the Secretary of Energy’s meth4 odology to collect information to determine and im5 plement the formula. 

Æ 


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