117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3428 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a Nuclear 

Fuel Security Program, expand the American Assured 

Fuel Supply Program, and submit a report on a civil 

nuclear credit program, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fission for the Future 

3 Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. U.S. NUCLEAR FUELS SECURITY INITIATIVE. 

5 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that— 

7 (1) the Department should— 

8 (A) prioritize activities to increase domes9 tic production of low-enriched uranium; and 

10 (B) accelerate efforts to establish a domes11 tic high-assay, low-enriched uranium enrich12 ment capability; and 

13 (2) if domestic enrichment of high-assay, low14 enriched uranium will not be commercially available 

15 at the scale needed in time to meet the needs of the 

16 advanced nuclear reactor demonstration projects of 

17 the Department, the Secretary shall consider and 

18 implement, as necessary— 

19 (A) all viable options to make high-assay, 

20 low-enriched uranium produced from inven21 tories owned by the Department available in a 

22 manner that is sufficient to maximize the po23 tential for the Department to meet the needs 

24 and schedules of advanced nuclear reactor de25 velopers, without impacting existing Depart26 ment missions, until such time that commercial 
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1 enrichment and deconversion capability for 

2 high-assay, low-enriched uranium exists at a 

3 scale sufficient to meet future needs; and 

4 (B) all viable options for partnering with 

5 countries that are allies or partners of the 

6 United States to meet those needs and sched7 ules until that time. 

8 (b) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of this section 

9 are— 

10 (1) to expeditiously increase domestic produc11 tion of low-enriched uranium; 

12 (2) to expeditiously increase domestic produc13 tion of high-assay, low-enriched uranium by an an14 nual quantity, and in such form, determined by the 

15 Secretary to be sufficient to meet the needs of— 

16 (A) advanced nuclear reactor developers; 

17 and 

18 (B) the consortium; 

19 (3) to ensure the availability of domestically 

20 produced, converted, and enriched uranium in a 

21 quantity determined by the Secretary, in consulta22 tion with U.S. nuclear energy companies, to be suffi23 cient to address a reasonably anticipated supply dis24 ruption; 
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1 (4) to address gaps and deficiencies in the do2 mestic production, conversion, enrichment, 

3 deconversion, and reduction of uranium by 

4 partnering with countries that are allies or partners 

5 of the United States if domestic options are not 

6 practicable; 

7 (5) to ensure that, in the event of a supply dis8 ruption in the nuclear fuel market, a reserve of nu9 clear fuels is available to serve as a backup supply 

10 to support the nuclear nonproliferation and civil nu11 clear energy objectives of the Department; 

12 (6) to support enrichment, deconversion, and 

13 reduction technology deployed in the United States; 

14 and 

15 (7) to ensure that, until such time that domes16 tic enrichment and deconversion of high-assay, low17 enriched uranium is commercially available at the 

18 scale needed to meet the needs of advanced nuclear 

19 reactor developers, the Secretary considers and im20 plements, as necessary— 

21 (A) all viable options to make high-assay, 

22 low-enriched uranium produced from inven23 tories owned by the Department available in a 

24 manner that is sufficient to maximize the po25 tential for the Department to meet the needs 
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1 and schedules of advanced nuclear reactor de2 velopers; and 

3 (B) all viable options for partnering with 

4 countries that are allies or partners of the 

5 United States to meet those needs and sched6 ules. 

7 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR.—The term 

9 ‘‘advanced nuclear reactor’’ has the meaning given 

10 the term in section 951(b) of the Energy Policy Act 

11 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271(b)). 

12 (2) ASSOCIATED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘associ13 ated entity’’ means an entity that— 

14 (A) is owned, controlled, or dominated 

15 by— 

16 (i) the government of a country that 

17 is an ally or partner of the United States; 

18 or 

19 (ii) an associated individual; or 

20 (B) is organized under the laws of, or oth21 erwise subject to the jurisdiction of, a country 

22 that is an ally or partner of the United States, 

23 including a corporation that is incorporated in 

24 such a country. 
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1 (3) ASSOCIATED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘asso2 ciated individual’’ means an alien who is a national 

3 of a country that is an ally or partner of the United 

4 States. 

5 (4) CONSORTIUM.—The term ‘‘consortium’’ 

6 means the consortium established under section 

7 2001(a)(2)(F) of the Energy Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 

8 16281(a)(2)(F)). 

9 (5) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

10 means the Department of Energy. 

11 (6) HIGH-ASSAY, LOW-ENRICHED URANIUM; 

12 HALEU.—The term ‘‘high-assay, low-enriched ura13 nium’’ or ‘‘HALEU’’ means high-assay low-enriched 

14 uranium (as defined in section 2001(d) of the En15 ergy Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 16281(d))). 

16 (7) LOW-ENRICHED URANIUM; LEU.—The term 

17 ‘‘low-enriched uranium’’ or ‘‘LEU’’ means each of— 

18 (A) low-enriched uranium (as defined in 

19 section 3102 of the USEC Privatization Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 2297h)); and 

21 (B) low-enriched uranium (as defined in 

22 section 3112A(a) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 2297h–10a(a))). 

24 (8) PROGRAMS.—The term ‘‘Programs’’ 

25 means— 
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1 (A) the Nuclear Fuel Security Program es2 tablished under subsection (d)(1); 

3 (B) the American Assured Fuel Supply 

4 Program of the Department; and 

5 (C) the HALEU for Advanced Nuclear Re6 actor Demonstration Projects Program estab7 lished under subsection (d)(3). 

8 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of Energy. 

10 (10) U.S. NUCLEAR ENERGY COMPANY.—The 

11 term ‘‘U.S. nuclear energy company’’ means a com12 pany that— 

13 (A) is organized under the laws of, or oth14 erwise subject to the jurisdiction of, the United 

15 States; and 

16 (B) is involved in the nuclear energy indus17 try. 

18 (d) ESTABLISHMENT AND EXPANSION OF PRO19 GRAMS.—The Secretary, consistent with the objectives de20 scribed in subsection (b), shall— 

21 (1) establish a program, to be known as the 

22 ‘‘Nuclear Fuel Security Program’’, to increase the 

23 quantity of LEU and HALEU produced by U.S. nu24 clear energy companies; 
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1 (2) expand the American Assured Fuel Supply 

2 Program of the Department to ensure the avail3 ability of domestically produced, converted, and en4 riched uranium in the event of a supply disruption; 

5 and 

6 (3) establish a program, to be known as the 

7 ‘‘HALEU for Advanced Nuclear Reactor Dem8 onstration Projects Program’’— 

9 (A) to maximize the potential for the De10 partment to meet the needs and schedules of 

11 advanced nuclear reactor developers until such 

12 time that commercial enrichment and 

13 deconversion capability for HALEU exists in 

14 the United States at a scale sufficient to meet 

15 future needs; and 

16 (B) where practicable, to partner with 

17 countries that are allies or partners of the 

18 United States to meet those needs and sched19 ules until that time. 

20 (e) NUCLEAR FUEL SECURITY PROGRAM.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the Nuclear 

22 Fuel Security Program, the Secretary— 

23 (A) shall— 

24 (i) not later than 180 days after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, enter into 2 
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1 or more contracts to begin acquiring not 

2 less than 100 metric tons per year of LEU 

3 by December 31, 2026 (or the earliest 

4 operationally feasible date thereafter), to 

5 ensure diverse domestic uranium mining, 

6 conversion, enrichment, and deconversion 

7 capacity and technologies, including new 

8 capacity, among U.S. nuclear energy com9 panies; 

10 (ii) not later than 180 days after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, enter into 2 

12 or more contracts with members of the 

13 consortium to begin acquiring not less than 

14 20 metric tons per year of HALEU by De15 cember 31, 2027 (or the earliest operation16 ally feasible date thereafter), from U.S. 

17 nuclear energy companies; 

18 (iii) utilize only uranium produced, 

19 converted, enriched, deconverted, and re20 duced in— 

21 (I) the United States; or 

22 (II) if domestic options are not 

23 practicable, a country that is an ally 

24 or partner of the United States; and 
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1 (iv) to the maximum extent prac2 ticable, ensure that the use of domestic 

3 uranium utilized as a result of that pro4 gram does not negatively affect the eco5 nomic operation of nuclear reactors in the 

6 United States; and 

7 (B)(i) may not make commitments under 

8 this subsection (including cooperative agree9 ments (used in accordance with section 6305 of 

10 title 31, United States Code), purchase agree11 ments, guarantees, leases, service contracts, or 

12 any other type of commitment) for the purchase 

13 or other acquisition of HALEU or LEU un14 less— 

15 (I) funds are specifically provided for 

16 those purposes in advance in appropria17 tions Acts enacted after the date of enact18 ment of this Act; or 

19 (II) the commitment is funded en20 tirely by funds made available to the Sec21 retary from the account described in sub22 section (i)(2)(B); and 

23 (ii) may make a commitment described in 

24 clause (i) only— 
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1 (I) if the full extent of the anticipated 

2 costs stemming from the commitment is 

3 recorded as an obligation at the time that 

4 the commitment is made; and 

5 (II) to the extent of that up-front ob6 ligation recorded in full at that time. 

7 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out para8 graph (1)(A)(ii), the Secretary shall consider and, if 

9 appropriate, implement— 

10 (A) options to ensure the quickest avail11 ability of commercially enriched HALEU, in12 cluding— 

13 (i) partnerships between 2 or more 

14 commercial enrichers; and 

15 (ii) utilization of up to 10-percent en16 riched uranium as feedstock in demonstra17 tion-scale or commercial HALEU enrich18 ment facilities; 

19 (B) options to partner with countries that 

20 are allies or partners of the United States to 

21 provide LEU and HALEU for commercial pur22 poses; 

23 (C) options that provide for an array of 

24 HALEU— 

25 (i) enrichment levels; 
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1 (ii) output levels to meet demand; and 

2 (iii) fuel forms, including uranium 

3 metal and oxide; and 

4 (D) options— 

5 (i) to replenish, as necessary, Depart6 ment stockpiles of uranium that was in7 tended to be downblended for other pur8 poses, but was instead used in carrying out 

9 activities under the HALEU for Advanced 

10 Nuclear Reactor Demonstration Projects 

11 Program; 

12 (ii) to continue supplying HALEU to 

13 meet the needs of the recipients of an 

14 award made pursuant to the funding op15 portunity announcement of the Depart16 ment numbered DE–FOA–0002271 for 

17 Pathway 1, Advanced Reactor Demonstra18 tions; and 

19 (iii) to make HALEU available to 

20 other advanced nuclear reactor developers 

21 and other end-users. 

22 (3) AVOIDANCE OF MARKET DISRUPTIONS.—In 

23 carrying out the Nuclear Fuel Security Program, the 

24 Secretary, to the extent practicable and consistent 

25 with the purposes of that program, shall not disrupt 
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1 or replace market mechanisms by competing with 

2 U.S. nuclear energy companies. 

3 (f) EXPANSION OF THE AMERICAN ASSURED FUEL

4 SUPPLY PROGRAM.—The Secretary, in consultation with 

5 U.S. nuclear energy companies, shall— 

6 (1) expand the American Assured Fuel Supply 

7 Program of the Department by merging the oper8 ations of the Uranium Reserve Program of the De9 partment with the American Assured Fuel Supply 

10 Program; and 

11 (2) in carrying out the American Assured Fuel 

12 Supply Program of the Department, as expanded 

13 under paragraph (1)— 

14 (A) maintain, replenish, diversify, or in15 crease the quantity of uranium made available 

16 by that program in a manner determined by the 

17 Secretary to be consistent with the purposes of 

18 that program and the objectives described in 

19 subsection (b); 

20 (B) utilize only uranium produced, con21 verted, and enriched in— 

22 (i) the United States; or 

23 (ii) if domestic options are not prac24 ticable, a country that is an ally or partner 

25 of the United States; 
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1 (C) make uranium available from the 

2 American Assured Fuel Supply, subject to 

3 terms and conditions determined by the Sec4 retary to be reasonable and appropriate; 

5 (D) refill and expand the supply of ura6 nium in the American Assured Fuel Supply, in7 cluding by maintaining a limited reserve of ura8 nium to address a potential event in which a 

9 domestic or foreign recipient of uranium experi10 ences a supply disruption for which uranium 

11 cannot be obtained through normal market 

12 mechanisms or under normal market conditions; 

13 and 

14 (E) take other actions that the Secretary 

15 determines to be necessary or appropriate to 

16 address the purposes of that program and the 

17 objectives described in subsection (b). 

18 (g) HALEU FOR ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR

19 DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS PROGRAM.— 

20 (1) ACTIVITIES.—On enactment of this Act, the 

21 Secretary shall immediately accelerate and, as nec22 essary, initiate activities to make available from in23 ventories or stockpiles owned by the Department and 

24 made available to the consortium, HALEU for use 

25 in advanced nuclear reactors that cannot operate on 
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1 uranium with lower enrichment levels or on alternate 

2 fuels, with priority given to the awards made pursu3 ant to the funding opportunity announcement of the 

4 Department numbered DE–FOA–0002271 for Path5 way 1, Advanced Reactor Demonstrations, with ad6 ditional HALEU to be made available to other ad7 vanced nuclear reactor developers, as the Secretary 

8 determines to be appropriate. 

9 (2) QUANTITY.—In carrying out activities 

10 under this subsection, the Secretary shall consider 

11 and implement, as necessary, all viable options to 

12 make HALEU available in quantities sufficient to 

13 maximize the potential for the Department to meet 

14 the needs and schedules of advanced nuclear reactor 

15 developers, including by seeking to make available— 

16 (A) by September 30, 2024, not less than 

17 3 metric tons of HALEU; 

18 (B) by December 31, 2025, not less than 

19 an additional 8 metric tons of HALEU; and 

20 (C) by June 30, 2026, not less than an ad21 ditional 10 metric tons of HALEU. 

22 (3) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—In car23 rying out activities under this subsection, the Sec24 retary shall take into consideration— 
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1 (A) options for providing HALEU from a 

2 stockpile of uranium owned by the Department, 

3 including— 

4 (i) uranium that has been declared ex5 cess to national security needs during or 

6 prior to fiscal year 2022; 

7 (ii) uranium that— 

8 (I) directly meets the needs of 

9 advanced nuclear reactor developers; 

10 but 

11 (II) has been previously used or 

12 fabricated for another purpose; 

13 (iii) uranium that can meet the needs 

14 of advanced nuclear reactor developers 

15 after removing radioactive or other con16 taminants that resulted from previous use 

17 or fabrication of the fuel for research, de18 velopment, demonstration, or deployment 

19 activities of the Department, including ac20 tivities that reduce the environmental li21 ability of the Department by accelerating 

22 the processing of uranium from stockpiles 

23 designated as waste; 

24 (iv) uranium from a high-enriched 

25 uranium stockpile, which can be blended 
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1 with lower assay uranium to become 

2 HALEU to meet the needs of advanced 

3 nuclear reactor developers; and 

4 (v) uranium from stockpiles intended 

5 for other purposes (excluding stockpiles in6 tended for national security needs), but for 

7 which uranium could be swapped or re8 placed in time in such a manner that 

9 would not negatively impact the missions 

10 of the Department; 

11 (B) options for expanding, or establishing 

12 new, capabilities or infrastructure to support 

13 the processing of uranium from Department in14 ventories; 

15 (C) options for accelerating the availability 

16 of HALEU from HALEU enrichment dem17 onstration projects of the Department; 

18 (D) options for providing HALEU from 

19 domestically enriched HALEU procured by the 

20 Department through a competitive process pur21 suant to the Nuclear Fuel Security Program es22 tablished under subsection (d)(1); 

23 (E) options to replenish, as needed, De24 partment stockpiles of uranium made available 

25 pursuant to subparagraph (A) with domestically 
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1 enriched HALEU procured by the Department 

2 through a competitive process pursuant to the 

3 Nuclear Fuel Security Program established 

4 under subsection (d)(1); and 

5 (F) options that combine 1 or more of the 

6 approaches described in subparagraphs (A) 

7 through (E) to meet the deadlines described in 

8 paragraph (2). 

9 (4) LIMITATIONS.— 

10 (A) CERTAIN SERVICES.—The Secretary 

11 shall not barter or otherwise sell or transfer 

12 uranium in any form in exchange for services 

13 relating to— 

14 (i) the final disposition of radioactive 

15 waste from uranium that is the subject of 

16 a contract for sale, resale, transfer, or 

17 lease under this subsection; or 

18 (ii) environmental cleanup activities. 

19 (B) CERTAIN COMMITMENTS.—In carrying 

20 out activities under this subsection, the Sec21 retary— 

22 (i) may not make commitments under 

23 this subsection (including cooperative 

24 agreements (used in accordance with sec25 tion 6305 of title 31, United States Code), 
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1 purchase agreements, guarantees, leases, 

2 service contracts, or any other type of com3 mitment) for the purchase or other acquisi4 tion of HALEU or LEU unless— 

5 (I) funds are specifically provided 

6 for those purposes in advance in ap7 propriations Acts enacted after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act; or 

9 (II) the commitment is funded 

10 entirely by funds made available to 

11 the Secretary from the account de12 scribed in subsection (i)(2)(B); and 

13 (ii) may make a commitment de14 scribed in clause (i) only— 

15 (I) if the full extent of the antici16 pated costs stemming from the com17 mitment is recorded as an obligation 

18 at the time that the commitment is 

19 made; and 

20 (II) to the extent of that up-front 

21 obligation recorded in full at that 

22 time. 

23 (5) SUNSET.—The authority of the Secretary to 

24 carry out activities under this subsection shall termi25 nate on the date on which the Secretary notifies 
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1 Congress that the HALEU needs of advanced nu2 clear reactor developers can be fully met by commer3 cial HALEU suppliers in the United States, as de4 termined by the Secretary, in consultation with U.S. 

5 nuclear energy companies. 

6 (h) DOMESTIC SOURCING CONSIDERATIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), the Secretary may only carry out an ac9 tivity in connection with 1 or more of the Programs 

10 if— 

11 (A) the activity promotes manufacturing in 

12 the United States associated with uranium sup13 ply chains; or 

14 (B) the activity relies on resources, mate15 rials, or equipment developed or produced— 

16 (i) in the United States; or 

17 (ii) in a country that is an ally or 

18 partner of the United States by— 

19 (I) the government of that coun20 try; 

21 (II) an associated entity; or 

22 (III) a U.S. nuclear energy com23 pany. 

24 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the re25 quirements of paragraph (1) with respect to an ac-
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1 tivity if the Secretary determines a waiver to be nec2 essary to achieve 1 or more of the objectives de3 scribed in subsection (b). 

4 (i) REASONABLE COMPENSATION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out activities 

6 under this section, the Secretary shall ensure that 

7 any LEU and HALEU made available by the Sec8 retary under 1 or more of the Programs is subject 

9 to reasonable compensation, taking into account the 

10 fair market value of the LEU or HALEU and the 

11 purposes of this section. 

12 (2) AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN FUNDS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec14 tion 3302(b) of title 31, United States Code, 

15 revenues received by the Secretary from the 

16 sale or transfer of fuel feed material acquired 

17 by the Secretary pursuant to a contract entered 

18 into under clause (i) or (ii) of subsection 

19 (e)(1)(A) shall— 

20 (i) be deposited in the account de21 scribed in subparagraph (B); 

22 (ii) be available to the Secretary for 

23 carrying out the purposes of this section, 

24 to reduce the need for further appropria25 tions for those purposes; and 
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1 (iii) remain available until expended. 

2 (B) REVOLVING FUND.—There is estab3 lished in the Treasury an account into which 

4 the revenues described in subparagraph (A) 

5 shall be— 

6 (i) deposited in accordance with clause 

7 (i) of that subparagraph; and 

8 (ii) made available in accordance with 

9 clauses (ii) and (iii) of that subparagraph. 

10 (j) NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION.—The Nu11 clear Regulatory Commission shall prioritize and expedite 

12 consideration of any action related to the Programs to the 

13 extent permitted under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 

14 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) and related statutes. 

15 (k) USEC PRIVATIZATION ACT.—The requirements 

16 of section 3112 of the USEC Privatization Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 2297h–10) shall not apply to activities related to the Pro18 grams. 

19 (l) NATIONAL SECURITY NEEDS.—The Secretary 

20 shall only make available to a member of the consortium 

21 under this section for commercial use or use in a dem22 onstration project material that the President has deter23 mined is not necessary for national security needs, subject 

24 to the condition that the material made available shall not 

25 include any material that the Secretary determines to be 
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1 necessary for the National Nuclear Security Administra2 tion or any critical mission of the Department. 

3 (m) INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.—This section 

4 shall be applied in a manner consistent with the obliga5 tions of the United States under international agreements. 

6 SEC. 3. REPORT ON CIVIL NUCLEAR CREDIT PROGRAM. 

7 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall submit to the 

9 appropriate committees of Congress a report that identi10 fies the anticipated funding requirements for the civil nu11 clear credit program described in section 40323 of the In12 frastructure Investment and Jobs Act (42 U.S.C. 18753), 

13 taking into account— 

14 (1) the zero-emission nuclear power production 

15 credit authorized by section 45U of the Internal 

16 Revenue Code of 1986; and 

17 (2) any increased fuel costs associated with the 

18 use of domestic fuel that may arise from the imple19 mentation of that program. 

Passed the Senate December 22, 2022. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3428 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a 

and for other purposes. submit a report on a civil nuclear credit program, American Assured Fuel Supply Program, and Nuclear Fuel Security Program, expand the