I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6303 

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 8, 2023 

Mr. JOHNSON 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 United States 

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 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; 

13 (4) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; 

14 (5) any other Federal agency or office the Sec15 retary of Energy determines appropriate; 

16 (6) the nuclear energy industry; 

17 (7) nongovernmental nuclear policy organiza18 tions; and 

19 (8) other public stakeholders, as the Secretary 

20 of Energy determines appropriate. 

21 (c) CONTENTS.—The report required under sub22 section (a) shall include— 

23 (1) an assessment of— 

24 (A) legal and regulatory requirements and 

25 policies of, and commercial practices in, the 


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1 United States with respect to the nuclear indus2 try of the United States; 

3 (B) the effects of such practices on such 

4 nuclear industry in domestic and foreign com5 merce; 

6 (C) the role of emerging United States nu7 clear technologies and applications of such tech8 nologies, including nonelectric applications of 

9 those technologies, in domestic and foreign 

10 commerce; and 

11 (D) the effects of advanced manufacturing 

12 and construction methods for nuclear tech13 nologies on— 

14 (i) the costs for deployment of such 

15 technologies; and 

16 (ii) the competitiveness of the nuclear 

17 industry of the United States; 

18 (2) a comparison of the matters assessed in 

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

20 an assessment of such matters as they apply with 

21 respect to foreign countries, including Canada, the 

22 United Kingdom, France, Japan, the Republic of 

23 Korea, China, and the Russian Federation; 

24 (3) recommendations to improve the competi25 tiveness of United States nuclear commerce; and 


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1 (4) recommendations relating to the applica2 bility of section 170 of the Atomic Energy Act of 

3 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210) with respect to advanced nu4 clear technologies. 

5 SEC. 3. PROCESS FOR REVIEW AND AMENDMENT OF PART 

6 810 GENERALLY AUTHORIZED DESTINATIONS. 

7 (a) IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION OF FAC8 TORS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enact9 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation 

10 with the Secretary of State, shall identify and evaluate 

11 factors, other than agreements for cooperation entered 

12 into in accordance with section 123 of the Atomic Energy 

13 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2153), that may be used to deter14 mine a country’s generally authorized destination status 

15 under part 810 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, 

16 and to list such country as a generally authorized destina17 tion in Appendix A to part 810 of title 10, Code of Federal 

18 Regulations. 

19 (b) PROCESS UPDATE.—The Secretary of Energy 

20 shall review and, as appropriate, update the Department 

21 of Energy’s process for determining a country’s generally 

22 authorized destination status under part 810 of title 10, 

23 Code of Federal Regulations, and for listing such country 

24 as a generally authorized destination in Appendix A to 

25 part 810 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, taking 


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1 into consideration, and, as appropriate, incorporating fac2 tors identified and evaluated under subsection (a). 

3 (c) REVISIONS TO LIST.—Not later than one year 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, and at least once 

5 every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary of Energy shall, 

6 in accordance with any process updated pursuant to this 

7 section, review the list in Appendix A to part 810 of title 

8 10, Code of Federal Regulations, and amend such list as 

9 appropriate. 

10 SEC. 4. LICENSING DOMESTIC NUCLEAR PROJECTS IN 

11 WHICH UNITED STATES ALLIES INVEST. 

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

13 certain licenses for utilization facilities to certain aliens, 

14 corporations, and other entities described in the second 

15 sentence of section 103 d. of the Atomic Energy Act of 

16 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2133(d)) and the second sentence of sec17 tion 104 d. of that Act (42 U.S.C. 2134(d)) shall not 

18 apply to an entity described in subsection (b) of this sec19 tion if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission determines 

20 that issuance of the applicable license to that entity is not 

21 inimical to— 

22 (1) the common defense and security; or 

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

24 (b) ENTITIES DESCRIBED.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An entity referred to in sub2 section (a) is an alien, corporation, or other entity 

3 that is owned, controlled, or dominated by— 

4 (A) the government of— 

5 (i) a country, other than a country de6 scribed in paragraph (2), that is a member 

7 of the Organization for Economic Co-oper8 ation and Development on the date of en9 actment of this Act; or 

10 (ii) the Republic of India; 

11 (B) a corporation that is incorporated in a 

12 country described in clause (i) or (ii) of sub13 paragraph (A); or 

14 (C) an alien who is a citizen or national of 

15 a country described in clause (i) or (ii) of sub16 paragraph (A). 

17 (2) EXCLUSION.—A country described in this 

18 paragraph is a country— 

19 (A) any department, agency, or instrumen20 tality of the government of which, on the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, is subject to sanctions 

22 under section 231 of the Countering America’s 

23 Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 

24 9525); or 


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1 (B) any citizen, national, or entity of 

2 which, as of the date of enactment of this Act, 

3 is included on the List of Specially Designated 

4 Nationals and Blocked Persons maintained by 

5 the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the De6 partment of the Treasury pursuant to sanctions 

7 imposed under section 231 of the Countering 

8 America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act 

9 (22 U.S.C. 9525). 

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

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

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

13 and inserting ‘‘any’’. 

14 (d) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section af15 fects the requirements of section 721 of the Defense Pro16 duction Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4565). 

17 SEC. 5. LICENSING CONSIDERATIONS RELATING TO USE OF 

18 NUCLEAR ENERGY FOR NONELECTRIC APPLI19 CATIONS. 

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

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Nuclear Regulatory 

22 Commission (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Commis23 sion’’) shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Com24 merce of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

25 on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report 


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1 addressing any unique licensing issues or requirements re2 lating to— 

3 (1) the flexible operation of advanced nuclear 

4 reactors, such as ramping power output and switch5 ing between electricity generation and nonelectric 

6 applications; 

7 (2) the use of advanced nuclear reactors exclu8 sively for nonelectric applications; and 

9 (3) the collocation of advanced nuclear reactors 

10 with industrial plants or other facilities. 

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

12 under subsection (a), the Commission shall seek input 

13 from— 

14 (1) the Secretary of Energy; 

15 (2) the nuclear energy industry; 

16 (3) technology developers; 

17 (4) the industrial, chemical, and medical sec18 tors; 

19 (5) nongovernmental organizations; and 

20 (6) other public stakeholders. 

21 (c) CONTENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 

22 shall describe— 

23 (1) any unique licensing issues or requirements 

24 relating to the matters described in paragraphs (1) 

25 through (3) of subsection (a), including, with respect 


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1 to the nonelectric applications referred to in para2 graphs (1) and (2) of that subsection, any licensing 

3 issues or requirements relating to the use of nuclear 

4 energy— 

5 (A) for hydrogen or other liquid and gas6 eous fuel or chemical production; 

7 (B) for water desalination and wastewater 

8 treatment; 

9 (C) for heat used in industrial processes; 

10 (D) for district heating; 

11 (E) in relation to energy storage; 

12 (F) for industrial or medical isotope pro13 duction; and 

14 (G) other applications, as identified by the 

15 Commission; 

16 (2) options for addressing such issues or re17 quirements— 

18 (A) within the existing regulatory frame19 work; 

20 (B) through the technology-inclusive, regu21 latory framework to be established under sec22 tion 103(a)(4) of the Nuclear Energy Innova23 tion and Modernization Act (42 U.S.C. 2133 

24 note; Public Law 115–439); or 

25 (C) through a new rulemaking; 


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1 (3) the extent to which Commission action is 

2 needed to implement any matter described in the re3 port; and 

4 (4) cost estimates, proposed budgets, and pro5 posed timeframes for implementing risk-informed 

6 and performance-based regulatory guidance for li7 censing advanced nuclear reactors for nonelectric ap8 plications. 

9 SEC. 6. REPORT ON ADVANCED METHODS OF MANUFAC10 TURING AND CONSTRUCTION FOR NUCLEAR 

11 ENERGY PROJECTS. 

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

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Nuclear Regulatory 

14 Commission (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Commis15 sion’’) shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Com16 merce of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

17 on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report 

18 on advanced methods of manufacturing and construction 

19 for nuclear energy projects. 

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

21 under subsection (a), the Commission shall seek input 

22 from— 

23 (1) the Secretary of Energy; 

24 (2) the nuclear energy industry; 

25 (3) the National Laboratories; 


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1 (4) institutions of higher education; 

2 (5) nuclear and manufacturing technology de3 velopers; 

4 (6) the manufacturing and construction indus5 tries; 

6 (7) standards development organizations; 

7 (8) labor unions; 

8 (9) nongovernmental organizations; and 

9 (10) other public stakeholders. 

10 (c) CONTENTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The report under subsection 

12 (a) shall— 

13 (A) examine any unique licensing issues or 

14 requirements relating to the use, for nuclear en15 ergy projects, of— 

16 (i) advanced manufacturing tech17 niques; and 

18 (ii) advanced construction techniques; 

19 (B) examine— 

20 (i) the requirements for nuclear-grade 

21 components in manufacturing and con22 struction for nuclear energy projects; 

23 (ii) opportunities to use standard ma24 terials, parts, or components in manufacVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Nov 15, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6303.IH H6303

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1 turing and construction for nuclear energy 

2 applications; and 

3 (iii) opportunities to use standard ma4 terials that are in compliance with existing 

5 codes and standards to provide acceptable 

6 approaches to support or encapsulate new 

7 materials that do not yet have applicable 

8 codes or standards; 

9 (C) identify safety aspects of advanced 

10 manufacturing processes and advanced con11 struction techniques that are not addressed by 

12 existing codes and standards, so that generic 

13 guidance for nuclear energy projects may be up14 dated or created as necessary by the Commis15 sion; 

16 (D) identify options for addressing the 

17 issues, requirements, and opportunities exam18 ined under subparagraphs (A) and (B)— 

19 (i) within the existing regulatory 

20 framework; or 

21 (ii) through a new rulemaking; and 

22 (E) describe the extent to which Commis23 sion action is needed to implement any matter 

24 described in the report. 


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1 (2) COST ESTIMATES, BUDGETS, AND TIME2 FRAMES.—The report under subsection (a) shall in3 clude cost estimates, proposed budgets, and pro4 posed timeframes for implementing risk-informed 

5 and performance-based regulatory guidance for ad6 vanced manufacturing and construction for nuclear 

7 energy projects. 

8 SEC. 7. EXTENSION OF THE PRICE-ANDERSON ACT. 

9 (a) EXTENSION.—Section 170 of the Atomic Energy 

10 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210) (commonly known as the 

11 ‘‘Price-Anderson Act’’) is amended by striking ‘‘December 

12 31, 2025’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘December 

13 31, 2065’’. 

14 (b) LIABILITY.—Section 170 of the Atomic Energy 

15 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210) (commonly known as the 

16 ‘‘Price-Anderson Act’’) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection d. (5), by striking 

18 ‘‘$500,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000,000,000’’; 

19 and 

20 (2) in subsection e. (4), by striking 

21 ‘‘$500,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000,000,000’’. 

22 (c) REPORT.—Section 170 p. of the Atomic Energy 

23 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(p)) (commonly known as the 

24 ‘‘Price-Anderson Act’’) is amended by striking ‘‘December 

25 31, 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2061’’. 


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1 (d) DEFINITION OF NUCLEAR INCIDENT.—Section 

2 11 q. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 

3 2014(q)) is amended, in the second proviso, by striking 

4 ‘‘if such occurrence’’ and all that follows through ‘‘United 

5 States:’’ and inserting a colon. 

6 SEC. 8. RISK POOLING PROGRAM ASSESSMENT. 

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

8 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

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

10 Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

11 and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of 

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

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

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

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

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

17 (a) shall include— 

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

19 actions to determine the risk-informed assessment 

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

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

22 17373(e)(2)(C)); and 


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1 (2) a review of the Secretary of Energy’s meth2 odology to collect information to determine and im3 plement the formula. 

Æ 


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