II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4066 

To amend the Energy Act of 2020 to require the Secretary of Energy 

to establish a program to accelerate the availability of commercially 

produced high-assay, low-enriched uranium in the United States and 

to make high-assay, low-enriched uranium produced from Department 

of Energy inventories available for use in advanced nuclear reactors, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 7, 2022 

Mr. BARRASSO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Energy Act of 2020 to require the Secretary 

of Energy to establish a program to accelerate the availability of commercially produced high-assay, low-enriched 

uranium in the United States and to make high-assay, 

low-enriched uranium produced from Department of Energy inventories available for use in advanced nuclear 

reactors, 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 ‘‘Fueling Our Nuclear 

3 Future Act of 2022’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that— 

6 (1) the Department of Energy (referred to in 

7 this section as the ‘‘Department’’) should prioritize 

8 activities to establish a domestic high-assay, low-en9 riched uranium (referred to in this section as 

10 ‘‘HALEU’’) enrichment capability, consistent with 

11 subsection (c) of section 2001 of the Energy Act of 

12 2020 (42 U.S.C. 16281); 

13 (2) domestic HALEU enrichment will not be 

14 commercially available at the scale needed in time to 

15 meet the needs of advanced nuclear reactor dem16 onstration projects; and 

17 (3) the Department needs to make available 

18 HALEU, produced from inventories owned by the 

19 Department, for use by advanced nuclear reactors 

20 consistent with subsection (d) of section 2001 of the 

21 Energy Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 16281), until such 

22 time as commercial HALEU enrichment capability 

23 exists consistent with that subsection. 

24 SEC. 3. HALEU FOR ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTORS. 

25 Section 2001 of the Energy Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 

26 16281) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

3 (i) in subparagraph (D)— 

4 (I) in clause (v)(III), by adding 

5 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon at the end; 

6 (II) by striking clause (vi); and 

7 (III) by redesignating clause (vii) 

8 as clause (vi); 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

10 ‘‘for domestic commercial use’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘to meet the needs of commercial, gov12 ernment, academic, and international enti13 ties’’; and 

14 (iii) in subparagraph (I), by inserting 

15 ‘‘nuclear’’ after ‘‘advanced’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (5), in the paragraph 

17 heading, by striking ‘‘HA–LEU’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘HALEU’’; and 

19 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and 

20 (7) as paragraphs (8) and (6), respectively, and 

21 moving the paragraphs so as to appear in nu22 merical order; 

23 (2) in subsection (b)(2)— 

24 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

25 ‘‘HA–LEU’’ and inserting ‘‘HALEU’’; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)(1)’’ each 

2 place it appears and inserting ‘‘subsection 

3 (b)(1)’’; 

4 (C) in subparagraph (B)(viii), by striking 

5 ‘‘subsection (a)(2)(F)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub6 section (b)(2)(F)’’; and 

7 (D) in subparagraph (D)(vi), by striking 

8 ‘‘subsection (a)(2)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub9 section (b)(2)(A)’’; 

10 (3) in subsection (c)— 

11 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

12 through (5) as subparagraphs (A) through (E), 

13 respectively, and indenting appropriately; and 

14 (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

15 (A) (as so redesignated)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘in this section’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘under this subsection’’; and 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘There are’’ and in19 serting the following: 

20 ‘‘(7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 There are’’; 

22 (4) in subsection (d)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (4)— 

24 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik25 ing ‘‘HIGH-ASSAY LOW-ENRICHED’’ and inVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:10 Apr 12, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4066.IS S4066

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1 serting ‘‘HIGH-ASSAY, LOW-ENRICHED’’; 

2 and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘high-assay low-en4 riched’’ and inserting ‘‘high-assay, low-en5 riched’’; 

6 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

7 through (6) as paragraphs (3), (4), (6), (7), 

8 (8), and (9), respectively; 

9 (C) by inserting before paragraph (3) (as 

10 so redesignated) the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR.—The 

12 term ‘advanced nuclear reactor’ has the meaning 

13 given the term in section 951(b) of the Energy Pol14 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271(b)). 

15 ‘‘(2) ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR END16 USER.—The term ‘advanced nuclear reactor end17 user’ means an entity seeking or receiving HALEU 

18 under subsection (d)(1) for use by an advanced nu19 clear reactor, including— 

20 ‘‘(A) the recipient of an award made pur21 suant to the funding opportunity announcement 

22 of the Department numbered DE–FOA– 

23 0002271 for Pathway 1, Advanced Reactor 

24 Demonstrations; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) a member of the consortium estab2 lished under subsection (b)(2)(F).’’; 

3 (D) by inserting after paragraph (4) (as so 

4 redesignated) the following: 

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

6 means the Department of Energy.’’; and 

7 (E) by striking paragraph (6) (as so redes8 ignated) and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(6) HALEU.—The term ‘HALEU’ means 

10 high-assay, low-enriched uranium.’’; 

11 (5) by striking ‘‘HA–LEU’’ each place it ap12 pears and inserting ‘‘HALEU’’; 

13 (6) by moving paragraph (7) of subsection (c) 

14 (as designated by paragraph (3)(B)(ii)) so as to ap15 pear after paragraph (6) of subsection (a) (as redes16 ignated by paragraph (1)(C)); 

17 (7) by striking subsection (c); 

18 (8) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), and 

19 (d) as subsections (b), (g), and (a), respectively, and 

20 moving the subsections so as to appear in alphabet21 ical order; 

22 (9) by inserting after subsection (b) (as so re23 designated) the following: 

24 ‘‘(c) COMMERCIAL HALEU AVAILABILITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days 

2 after the date of enactment of the Fueling Our Nu3 clear Future Act of 2022, the Secretary, acting 

4 through the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, 

5 shall establish a program (referred to in this sub6 section as the ‘program’) to accelerate the avail7 ability of commercially produced HALEU in the 

8 United States in accordance with this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program 

10 are— 

11 ‘‘(A) to provide for the availability of 

12 HALEU produced, chemically converted, en13 riched, chemically deconverted, and suitable for 

14 fabrication into final fuel form in the United 

15 States; 

16 ‘‘(B) to address nuclear fuel supply chain 

17 gaps and deficiencies in the United States; and 

18 ‘‘(C) to support strategic nuclear fuel sup19 ply chain capabilities in the United States. 

20 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the 

21 program, the Secretary shall consider and, as appro22 priate, execute— 

23 ‘‘(A) options to establish, through a com24 petitive process, a domestic commercial 

25 HALEU production capability of not less than 


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1 20 metric tons of HALEU per year, with initial 

2 availability by— 

3 ‘‘(i) December 31, 2027; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) the earliest operationally feasible 

5 date thereafter; 

6 ‘‘(B) options that provide for an array of 

7 HALEU— 

8 ‘‘(i) enrichment levels; 

9 ‘‘(ii) output levels to meet demand; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(iii) fuel forms; and 

12 ‘‘(C) options to establish, through a com13 petitive process, a HALEU Bank— 

14 ‘‘(i) to replenish, as necessary, De15 partment stockpiles of uranium used in 

16 carrying out activities under subsection 

17 (d); 

18 ‘‘(ii) to continue supplying HALEU to 

19 meet the needs of the recipients of an 

20 award made pursuant to the funding op21 portunity announcement of the Depart22 ment numbered DE–FOA–0002271 for 

23 Pathway 1, Advanced Reactor Demonstra24 tions; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) to make HALEU available to 

2 members of the consortium established 

3 under subsection (b)(2)(F), after address4 ing the needs described in clauses (i) and 

5 (ii). 

6 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In 

7 addition to amounts otherwise made available (other 

8 than amounts made available under section 4(b) of 

9 the Fueling Our Nuclear Future Act of 2022), there 

10 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to 

11 carry out this subsection $150,000,000 for each of 

12 fiscal years 2023 through 2032. 

13 ‘‘(d) HALEU FOR ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR

14 DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) ACTIVITIES.—On enactment of the Fuel16 ing Our Nuclear Future Act of 2022, the Secretary 

17 shall immediately accelerate and, as necessary, ini18 tiate activities to make available HALEU, produced 

19 from inventories owned by the Department, for use 

20 by advanced nuclear reactors, with priority given to 

21 the awards made pursuant to the funding oppor22 tunity announcement of the Department numbered 

23 DE–FOA–0002271 for Pathway 1, Advanced Reac24 tor Demonstrations, with additional HALEU to be 


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1 made available to members of the consortium estab2 lished under subsection (b)(2)(F), as available. 

3 ‘‘(2) OWNERSHIP.—HALEU made available 

4 under this subsection— 

5 ‘‘(A) shall remain the property of, and title 

6 shall remain with, the Department; and 

7 ‘‘(B) shall not be subject to the require8 ments of section 3112(d)(2) and 3113 of the 

9 USEC Privatization Act (42 U.S.C. 2297h– 

10 10(d)(2), 2297h–11). 

11 ‘‘(3) QUANTITY.—In carrying out activities 

12 under this subsection, the Secretary shall make 

13 available— 

14 ‘‘(A) by September 30, 2024, not less than 

15 3 metric tons of HALEU; 

16 ‘‘(B) by December 31, 2025, not less than 

17 an additional 8 metric tons of HALEU; and 

18 ‘‘(C) by June 30, 2026, not less than an 

19 additional 10 metric tons of HALEU. 

20 ‘‘(4) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—In car21 rying out activities under this subsection, the Sec22 retary shall take into consideration— 

23 ‘‘(A) options for providing HALEU from a 

24 stockpile of uranium owned by the Department 


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1 (including the National Nuclear Security Ad2 ministration), including— 

3 ‘‘(i) fuel that— 

4 ‘‘(I) directly meets the needs of 

5 advanced nuclear reactor end-users; 

6 but 

7 ‘‘(II) has been previously used or 

8 fabricated for another purpose; 

9 ‘‘(ii) fuel that can meet the needs of 

10 advanced nuclear reactor end-users after 

11 removing radioactive or other contami12 nants that resulted from a previous use or 

13 fabrication of the fuel for research, devel14 opment, demonstration, or deployment ac15 tivities of the Department (including ac16 tivities of the National Nuclear Security 

17 Administration); 

18 ‘‘(iii) fuel from a high-enriched ura19 nium stockpile, which can be blended with 

20 lower assay uranium to become HALEU to 

21 meet the needs of advanced nuclear reactor 

22 end-users; and 

23 ‘‘(iv) fuel from uranium stockpiles in24 tended for other purposes, but for which 

25 uranium could be swapped or replaced in 


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1 time in such a manner that would not neg2 atively impact the missions of the Depart3 ment; 

4 ‘‘(B) options for providing HALEU from 

5 domestically enriched HALEU procured by the 

6 Department through a competitive process pur7 suant to the HALEU Bank established under 

8 subsection (c)(3)(C); and 

9 ‘‘(C) options to replenish, as needed, De10 partment stockpiles of uranium made available 

11 pursuant to subparagraph (A) with domestically 

12 enriched HALEU procured by the Department 

13 through a competitive process pursuant to the 

14 HALEU Bank established under subsection 

15 (c)(3)(C). 

16 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not 

17 barter or otherwise sell or transfer uranium in any 

18 form in exchange for services relating to— 

19 ‘‘(A) the final disposition of radioactive 

20 waste from uranium that is the subject of a 

21 contract for sale, resale, transfer, or lease under 

22 this subsection; or 

23 ‘‘(B) environmental cleanup activities. 

24 ‘‘(6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In 

25 addition to amounts otherwise made available (other 


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1 than amounts made available under section 4(b) of 

2 the Fueling Our Nuclear Future Act of 2022), there 

3 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to 

4 carry out this subsection $200,000,000 for each of 

5 fiscal years 2023 through 2027. 

6 ‘‘(7) SUNSET.—The authority of the Secretary 

7 to carry out activities under this subsection shall ter8 minate on the date on which the HALEU needs of 

9 advanced nuclear reactor end-users can be fully met 

10 by commercial HALEU suppliers in the United 

11 States, as mutually agreed to by the Secretary and 

12 advanced nuclear reactor end-users. 

13 ‘‘(e) COST RECOVERY.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out activities 

15 under subsections (c) and (d), the Secretary shall 

16 ensure that any HALEU acquired, provided, or 

17 made available under those subsections for advanced 

18 nuclear reactor end-users is subject to cost recovery 

19 in accordance with subsection (b)(2)(G). 

20 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN FUNDS.—Not21 withstanding section 3302 of title 31, United States 

22 Code, revenues received from the sale or transfer of 

23 fuel feed material and other activities related to 

24 making HALEU available pursuant to this section— 


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1 ‘‘(A) shall be available to the Department 

2 for carrying out the purposes of this section, to 

3 reduce the need for further appropriations for 

4 those purposes; and 

5 ‘‘(B) shall remain available until expended. 

6 ‘‘(f) EXCLUSION.—In carrying out activities under 

7 this section, the Secretary shall not make available, or pro8 vide funding for, uranium that is recovered, downblended, 

9 produced, chemically converted, enriched, chemically 

10 deconverted, or fabricated by an entity that— 

11 ‘‘(1) is owned or controlled by the Government 

12 of the Russian Federation or the Government of the 

13 People’s Republic of China; or 

14 ‘‘(2) is organized under the laws of, or other15 wise subject to the jurisdiction of, the Russian Fed16 eration or the People’s Republic of China.’’; and 

17 (10) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(h) BRIEFING.—Not later than 90 days after the 

19 date of enactment of the Fueling Our Nuclear Future Act 

20 of 2022, the Secretary shall provide a briefing to the Com21 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

22 and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

23 House of Representatives that— 

24 ‘‘(1) summarizes the reports required by sub25 section (g); 


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1 ‘‘(2) summarizes the planning of the Depart2 ment for the storage and disposal of waste products 

3 resulting from the production and use of HALEU; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(3) summarizes the ability of uranium sup6 pliers to provide uranium for advanced nuclear reac7 tor fuel, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) uranium that has been produced 

9 prior to the date of enactment of the Fueling 

10 Our Nuclear Future Act of 2022; 

11 ‘‘(B) the sufficiency of existing uranium 

12 production to meet the needs described in this 

13 section; 

14 ‘‘(C) an assessment of the countries from 

15 which the Unites States currently imports ura16 nium, including the form and annual quantity; 

17 ‘‘(D) the impact of increased reliance on 

18 domestic uranium production, conversion, and 

19 enrichment to sustain the continued operation 

20 of existing nuclear reactors; and 

21 ‘‘(E) the need for increased domestic ura22 nium production to meet the needs described 

23 this section.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM THE UNITED STATES 

2 ENRICHMENT CORPORATION FUND. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 

5 United States Enrichment Corporation Fund estab6 lished by section 1308 of the Atomic Energy Act of 

7 1954 (68 Stat. 921, chapter 1073; 106 Stat. 2929) 

8 (repealed by section 3116(a)(1) of the Omnibus Con9 solidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 

10 1996 (Public Law 104–134; 110 Stat. 1321–349)). 

11 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of Energy. 

13 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF TRANSFER OF AMOUNTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—All amounts in the Fund as 

15 of the date of enactment of this Act are authorized 

16 to be transferred and merged with the amounts au17 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

18 out subsections (c) and (d) of section 2001 of the 

19 Energy Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 16281). 

20 (2) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts authorized 

21 to be transferred under paragraph (1)— 

22 (A) 50 percent is authorized to be appro23 priated to carry out subsection (c) of that sec24 tion; and 


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1 (B) 50 percent is authorized to be appro2 priated to carry out subsection (d) of that sec3 tion. 

4 (3) APPLICATION.—Any amounts made avail5 able to the Secretary under subparagraph (A) or (B) 

6 of paragraph (2)— 

7 (A) shall be considered to be part of the 

8 amounts authorized to be appropriated to the 

9 Secretary under subsection (c)(4) or (d)(6), re10 spectively, of section 2001 of the Energy Act of 

11 2020 (42 U.S.C. 16281); and 

12 (B) shall remain available until expended. 

13 (c) TERMINATION OF FUND.—The Fund shall termi14 nate on completion of the transfer under subsection (b)(1). 

Æ 


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