I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3828 

To authorize funding for University Nuclear Science, Engineering, and Health 

Physics Programs at the Department of Energy for fiscal years 2005 

through 2008. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2004 

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

Committee on Science 

A BILL 

To authorize funding for University Nuclear Science, Engineering, and Health Physics Programs at the Department of Energy for fiscal years 2005 through 2008. 

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 ‘‘Department of Energy 

5 University Nuclear Science, Engineering, and Health 

6 Physics Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 The Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) United States university nuclear science, en2 gineering, and health programs are in a state of se3 rious decline. The supply of bachelor degree nuclear 

4 science, engineering, and health physics personnel in 

5 the United States is lower than the number of jobs 

6 available, resulting in a shortage of these critical 

7 professionals. The number of 4-year degree nuclear 

8 engineering programs has declined 50 percent to approximately 25 programs nationwide. Over 2 9 ⁄3 of the 

10 faculty in these programs are 45 years or older and 

11 there are few tenure track junior faculty positions 

12 available. 

13 (2) Universities are finding it increasingly dif14 ficult to fund the operational costs of their research 

15 and training reactors. Since 1980, the number of 

16 small training reactors in the United States has de17 clined by over 50 percent to 27 reactors. Most of 

18 these reactors were built in the late 1950’s and 

19 1960’s with 30- to 40-year operating licenses, and 

20 will require relicensing in the next several years. 

21 (3) The neglect in human investment and train22 ing infrastructure is affecting 50 years of national 

23 research and development investment. The decline in 

24 a competent nuclear workforce, and the lack of ade25 quately trained nuclear scientists, engineers, and 
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1 health physicists, will affect the ability of the United 

2 States to solve future waste storage issues, operate 

3 existing and design future fission reactors in the 

4 United States, respond to future nuclear events 

5 worldwide, help stem the proliferation of nuclear 

6 weapons, and design and operate naval nuclear reac7 tors. 

8 (4) Future neglect in the Nation’s investment 

9 in human resources for the nuclear sciences will lead 

10 to a downward spiral. As the number of nuclear 

11 science departments shrinks, faculties age, and 

12 training reactors close, the appeal of nuclear science 

13 will be lost to future generations of students. 

14 (5) Current projections are that 50 percent of 

15 industry’s nuclear workforce can retire in 10 to 15 

16 years, and 76 percent of the nuclear workforce at 

17 our national labs can retire in the next 5 years. A 

18 new supply of trained scientists and engineers to re19 place this retiring workforce is urgently needed. 

20 (6) The Department of Energy’s Office of Nu21 clear Energy, Science, and Technology is well suited 

22 to help maintain tomorrow’s human resource and 

23 training investment in the nuclear sciences. Through 

24 its support of research and development pursuant to 

25 the Department’s statutory authorities, the Office of 
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1 Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology is the 

2 principal Federal agent for civilian research in the 

3 nuclear sciences for the United States. The Office 

4 maintains the Nuclear Engineering and Education 

5 Research Program which funds basic nuclear science 

6 and engineering. The Office funds the Nuclear En7 ergy and Research Initiative which funds applied 

8 collaborative research among universities, industry, 

9 and national laboratories in the areas of prolifera10 tion-resistant fuel cycles and future fission power 

11 systems. The Office funds universities to refuel 

12 training reactors from highly enriched to low-en13 riched proliferation-tolerant fuels, performs instru14 mentation upgrades, and maintains a program of 

15 student fellowships for nuclear science, engineering, 

16 and health physics. 

17 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY PROGRAM. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Energy, 

19 through the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Tech20 nology, shall support a program to invest in human re21 sources and infrastructure in the nuclear sciences, engi22 neering, and health physics fields, consistent with the De23 partment’s statutory authorities related to civilian nuclear 

24 research and development. 
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1 (b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the program under this 

2 Act, the Secretary shall— 

3 (1) establish a graduate and undergraduate fel4 lowship program to attract new and talented stu5 dents; 

6 (2) establish a Junior Faculty Research Initi7 ation Grant Program to assist institutions of higher 

8 education in recruiting and retaining new faculty in 

9 the nuclear sciences, engineering, and health physics; 

10 (3) support fundamental nuclear sciences, engi11 neering, and health physics research through the 

12 Nuclear Engineering Education Research Program; 

13 (4) encourage collaborative nuclear research 

14 and training among industry, National Laboratories, 

15 and institutions of higher education; and 

16 (5) support communication and outreach re17 lated to nuclear science, engineering, and health 

18 physics. 

19 (c) STRENGTHENING UNIVERSITY RESEARCH AND

20 TRAINING REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUC21 TURE.—Activities under this section may include— 

22 (1) converting research reactors currently using 

23 high-enrichment fuels to low-enrichment fuels, up24 grading operational instrumentation, and sharing of 

25 reactors among institutions of higher education; 
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1 (2) providing technical assistance, in collabora2 tion with the United States nuclear industry, in reli3 censing and upgrading training reactors as part of 

4 a student training program; and 

5 (3) providing funding, through the Innovations 

6 in Nuclear Infrastructure and Education Program, 

7 for reactor improvements as part of a focused effort 

8 that emphasizes research, training, and education. 

9 (d) UNIVERSITY-DOE LABORATORY INTER10 ACTIONS.—The Secretary of Energy, through the Office 

11 of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology, shall de12 velop— 

13 (1) a sabbatical fellowship program for profes14 sors at institutions of higher education to spend ex15 tended periods of time at Department of Energy lab16 oratories in the areas of nuclear science and tech17 nology; and 

18 (2) a visiting scientist program in which Na19 tional Laboratory staff can spend time in academic 

20 nuclear science, engineering, and health physics de21 partments. 

22 The Secretary may under subsection (b)(1) provide fellow23 ships for students to spend time at National Laboratories 

24 in the areas of nuclear science, engineering, and health 
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1 physics with a member of the Laboratory staff acting as 

2 a mentor. 

3 (e) OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.—Funding for 

4 a research project provided under this section may be used 

5 to offset a portion of the operating and maintenance costs 

6 of a research reactor at an institution of higher education 

7 used in the research project. 

8 (f) MERIT REVIEW REQUIRED.—All grants, con9 tracts, cooperative agreements, or other financial assist10 ance awards under this Act shall be made only after inde11 pendent merit review. 

12 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 (a) TOTAL AUTHORIZATION.—The following sums 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of En15 ergy, to remain available until expended, for the purposes 

16 of carrying out this Act: 

17 (1) $35,200,000 for fiscal year 2005. 

18 (2) $44,350,000 for fiscal year 2006. 

19 (3) $49,200,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

20 (4) $54,950,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

21 (b) GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE FELLOW22 SHIPS.—Of the funds authorized under subsection (a), the 

23 following sums are authorized to be appropriated to carry 

24 out section 3(b)(1): 

25 (1) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2005. 
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1 (2) $3,100,000 for fiscal year 2006. 

2 (3) $3,200,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

3 (4) $3,200,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

4 (c) JUNIOR FACULTY RESEARCH INITIATION GRANT

5 PROGRAM.—Of the funds authorized under subsection (a), 

6 the following sums are authorized to be appropriated to 

7 carry out section 3(b)(2): 

8 (1) $2,275,000 for fiscal year 2005. 

9 (2) $3,675,000 for fiscal year 2006. 

10 (3) $4,150,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

11 (4) $5,150,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

12 (d) NUCLEAR ENGINEERING EDUCATION RESEARCH

13 AND NUCLEAR HEALTH PHYSICS.—Of the funds author14 ized under subsection (a), the following sums are author15 ized to be appropriated to carry out section 3(b)(3): 

16 (1) $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, of which 

17 $3,000,000 shall be for the nuclear health physics. 

18 (2) $15,600,000 for fiscal year 2006, of which 

19 $3,600,000 shall be for the nuclear health physics. 

20 (3) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, of which 

21 $4,000,000 shall be for the nuclear health physics. 

22 (4) $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, of which 

23 $4,500,000 shall be for the nuclear health physics. 

24 (e) COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH RELATED TO

25 NUCLEAR SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND HEALTH PHYS-
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1 ICS.—Of the funds authorized under subsection (a), the 

2 following sums are authorized to be appropriated to carry 

3 out section 3(b)(5): 

4 (1) $500,000 for fiscal year 2005. 

5 (2) $550,000 for fiscal year 2006. 

6 (3) $600,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

7 (4) $650,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

8 (f) REFUELING OF RESEARCH REACTORS AND IN9 STRUMENTATION UPGRADES.—Of the funds authorized 

10 under subsection (a), the following sums are authorized 

11 to be appropriated to carry out section 3(c)(1): 

12 (1) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2005. 

13 (2) $6,500,000 for fiscal year 2006. 

14 (3) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

15 (4) $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

16 (g) RELICENSING ASSISTANCE.—Of the funds au17 thorized under subsection (a), the following sums are au18 thorized to be appropriated to carry out section 3(c)(2): 

19 (1) $700,000 for fiscal year 2005. 

20 (2) $1,100,000 for fiscal year 2006. 

21 (3) $1,200,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

22 (4) $1,300,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

23 (h) INNOVATIONS IN NUCLEAR INFRASTRUCTURE

24 AND EDUCATION PROGRAM.—Of the funds authorized 
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1 under subsection (a), the following sums are authorized 

2 to be appropriated to carry out section 3(c)(3): 

3 (1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2005. 

4 (2) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2006. 

5 (3) $14,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

6 (4) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

7 (i) UNIVERSITY-DOE LABORATORY INTER8 ACTIONS.—Of the funds authorized under subsection (a), 

9 the following sums are authorized to be appropriated to 

10 carry out section 3(d): 

11 (1) $1,725,000 for fiscal year 2005. 

12 (2) $1,825,000 for fiscal year 2006. 

13 (3) $2,050,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

14 (4) $3,150,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

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