I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6346 

To update oversight and inspection practices of the Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 9, 2023 

Mrs. LESKO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To update oversight and inspection practices of the Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission, 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 ‘‘Advancing Nuclear 

5 Regulatory Oversight Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. IMPLEMENTING LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE 

7 COVID–19 HEALTH EMERGENCY. 

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

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall sub10 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 


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1 on actions taken by the Commission during the public 

2 health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and 

3 Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health 

4 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, with 

5 respect to COVID–19. 

6 (b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub7 section (a) shall— 

8 (1) identify any processes, procedures, and 

9 other regulatory policies that the Commission re10 vised or temporarily suspended during the public 

11 health emergency described in subsection (a); 

12 (2) examine how any revision or temporary sus13 pension of a process, procedure, or other regulatory 

14 policy identified under paragraph (1) affected the 

15 ability of the Commission to license and regulate the 

16 civilian use of radioactive materials in the United 

17 States to protect public health and safety, promote 

18 the common defense and security, and protect the 

19 environment; 

20 (3) discuss lessons learned from the matters de21 scribed in paragraph (2); 

22 (4) list actions that the Commission has taken 

23 or will take to incorporate into the licensing and 

24 oversight activities of the Commission, without comVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Nov 21, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6346.IH H6346

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1 promising the mission of the Commission, the les2 sons described in paragraph (3); and 

3 (5) describe when the actions listed under para4 graph (4) were implemented or may be implemented. 

5 SEC. 3. ADVANCING EFFICIENT, RISK-INFORMED OVER6 SIGHT AND INSPECTIONS. 

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

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall de9 velop and submit to the appropriate committees of Con10 gress a report that identifies specific improvements to the 

11 nuclear reactor and materials oversight and inspection 

12 programs carried out pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act 

13 of 1954 that the Commission may implement to maximize 

14 the efficiency of such programs through, where appro15 priate, the use of risk-informed, performance-based proce16 dures, expanded incorporation of information technologies, 

17 and staff training. 

18 (b) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.—In developing the report 

19 under subsection (a), the Commission shall, as appro20 priate, seek input from— 

21 (1) the Secretary of Energy; 

22 (2) the National Laboratories; 

23 (3) the nuclear energy industry; and 

24 (4) nongovernmental organizations that are re25 lated to nuclear energy. 


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1 (c) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub2 section (a) shall— 

3 (1) assess specific elements of oversight and in4 spections that may be modified by the use of tech5 nology, improved planning, and continually updated 

6 risk-informed, performance-based assessment, in7 cluding— 

8 (A) use of travel resources; 

9 (B) planning and preparation for inspec10 tions, including entrance and exit meetings with 

11 licensees and consideration of whether inspec12 tion teams need to be onsite; 

13 (C) document collection and preparation, 

14 including consideration of whether nuclear reac15 tor data are accessible without onsite visits or 

16 requests to the licensee and that document re17 quests are timely and within the scope of in18 spections; 

19 (D) the cross-cutting issues program; and 

20 (E) the scope of event reporting required 

21 by licensees to ensure decisions are risk-in22 formed; 

23 (2) identify and assess measures to improve 

24 oversight and inspections, including— 


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1 (A) elimination of areas of duplicative or 

2 otherwise unnecessary activities; 

3 (B) increased use of templates in docu4 menting inspection results; and 

5 (C) periodic training of Commission staff 

6 and leadership on the application of risk-in7 formed criteria for— 

8 (i) inspection planning and assess9 ments; 

10 (ii) agency decision making processes 

11 on the application of regulations and guid12 ance; and 

13 (iii) the application of the Commis14 sion’s standard of reasonable assurance of 

15 adequate protection; 

16 (3) assess measures to advance risk-informed 

17 procedures, including— 

18 (A) increased use of inspection approaches 

19 that balance the level of resources commensu20 rate with safety significance; 

21 (B) increased review of the use of inspec22 tion program resources based on licensee per23 formance; 

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1 chine learning to risk inform oversight and in2 spection decisions; and 

3 (D) updating the Differing Professional 

4 Views or Opinions process to include— 

5 (i) safety significance as a threshold 

6 for entering such process; and 

7 (ii) guidance for issue resolution to 

8 minimize the impact of such process on 

9 project schedules; 

10 (4) assess the ability of the Commission, con11 sistent with its obligations to provide reasonable as12 surance of adequate protection of health and safety 

13 pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, to en14 able licensee innovations that may advance nuclear 

15 reactor operational efficiency and safety, including 

16 the criteria of the Commission for timely acceptance 

17 of licensee adoption of advanced technologies, includ18 ing digital technologies; 

19 (5) identify recommendations resulting from the 

20 assessments described in paragraphs (1) through 

21 (4); 

22 (6) identify specific actions that the Commis23 sion will take to incorporate into the training, in24 spection, oversight, and licensing activities, and reg25 ulations of the Commission, without compromising 


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1 the mission of the Commission, the recommenda2 tions identified under paragraph (5); and 

3 (7) describe when the actions identified under 

4 paragraph (6) may be implemented. 

5 SEC. 4. OFFICE AND FACILITY SPACE REVIEW. 

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

7 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

8 United States shall— 

9 (1) review office and other facility space re10 quirements of the Commission; and 

11 (2) submit to the appropriate committees of 

12 Congress a report, with recommendations, on the re13 sults of such review. 

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

15 (a) shall include— 

16 (1) an examination of— 

17 (A) the costs associated with the head18 quarters, regional offices, and technical training 

19 center of the Commission, including examina20 tion of— 

21 (i) costs that do not support the Com22 mission’s mission, including rent subsidies 

23 for other Federal agencies; and 

24 (ii) opportunities to reduce future 

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1 fice space, consolidation of offices, use of 

2 advanced information technology, or any 

3 other appropriate means; and 

4 (B) current and anticipated office and fa5 cility requirements to efficiently accomplish the 

6 mission of the Commission; and 

7 (2) recommendations to Congress, the Commis8 sion, and the General Services Administration for 

9 actions that may assist in reducing office and facility 

10 costs to licensees and taxpayers. 

11 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON14 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con15 gress’’ means the Committee on Energy and Com16 merce of the House of Representatives and the Com17 mittee on Environment and Public Works of the 

18 Senate. 

19 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

20 means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

21 (3) LICENSEE.—The term ‘‘licensee’’ means a 

22 person that holds a license issued under section 103 

23 or section 104 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 

24 (42 U.S.C. 2133; 2134). 

Æ 


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