I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3731 
To assist communities affected by stranded nuclear waste, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 4, 2021 
Mr. SCHNEIDER (for himself, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. HUFFMAN, 
Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mr. KIND, Ms. PINGREE, and Mr. WELCH) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on 
Financial Services, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To assist communities affected by stranded nuclear waste, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sensible, Timely Relief 
for America’s Nuclear Districts’ Economic Development 
Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘STRANDED Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
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(1) communities throughout the United States, 
including communities in the States of California, 
Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Mary-
land, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Or-
egon, Vermont, and Wisconsin, are tasked with deal-
ing with stranded nuclear waste; 
(2) communities affected by stranded nuclear 
waste are de facto interim nuclear waste storage 
sites; 
(3) the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 
U.S.C. 10101 et seq.)— 
(A) directed the Secretary of Energy to 
make annual impact assistance payments to 
States or appropriate units of local government 
to mitigate the social and economic impacts of 
the establishment and operation of interim nu-
clear waste storage capacity within the jurisdic-
tional boundaries of an affected community; 
and 
(B) established the rate for impact assist-
ance payments at $15 per kilogram of spent 
nuclear fuel; 
(4) decommissioning a commercial nuclear 
power plant is often catastrophic for the host com-
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munity because nuclear power plants are major em-
ployers and the primary source of local tax revenue; 
(5) stranded nuclear waste is a profound obsta-
cle to future economic growth, deterring potential 
employers and residents from considering the host 
community; 
(6) stranded nuclear waste prevents economic 
development in communities in which the stranded 
nuclear waste is located; 
(7) stranded nuclear waste prevents commu-
nities from redeveloping sites where nuclear power 
plants previously operated which further inhibits tax 
revenues; and 
(8) it is critical to provide resources to commu-
nities that— 
(A) are challenged by stranded nuclear 
waste; or 
(B) will be challenged by stranded nuclear 
waste during the 10-year period beginning on 
the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ACADEMY.—The term ‘‘Academy’’ means 
the National Academy of Sciences. 
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(2) 
NUCLEAR-AFFECTED
COMMUNITY.—The 
term ‘‘nuclear-affected community’’ means a unit of 
local government, including a county, city, town, vil-
lage, school district, or special district, that the Ad-
ministrator determines to contain stranded nuclear 
waste within the jurisdictional boundary or contain 
an eligible civilian nuclear power plant within the ju-
risdictional boundary of such locality. 
(3) 
ELIGIBLE
CIVILIAN
NUCLEAR
POWER 
PLANT.—The term ‘‘eligible civilian nuclear power 
plant’’ means a civilian nuclear power plant (as de-
fined in section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act 
of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101)) that— 
(A) has been decommissioned; or 
(B) is in the process of being decommis-
sioned. 
(4) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the U.S. Eco-
nomic Development Administration. 
(5) STRANDED
NUCLEAR
WASTE.—The term 
‘‘stranded nuclear waste’’ means nuclear waste or 
spent nuclear fuel stored in dry casks or spent fuel 
pools (as defined in section 2 of the Nuclear Waste 
Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101)) at the site 
of an eligible civilian nuclear power plant. 
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SEC. 4. TAX INCENTIVES FOR AFFECTED COMMUNITIES. 
(a) FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER CREDIT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 36 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘for nuclear affected 
communities’’ after ‘‘credit’’ in the head-
ing; 
(B) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘in the 
United States’’ and inserting ‘‘in a nuclear af-
fected community (as such term is defined in 
section 3 of the STRANDED Act of 2021)’’; 
(C) in subsection (b), by striking para-
graphs (2) and (3) and redesignating paragraph 
(4) as paragraph (2); and 
(D) by striking subsections (f), (g), and 
(h). 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for subpart C of part IV of subchapter A of 
chapter 1 of such Code is amended by striking the 
item relating to section 36 and inserting the fol-
lowing new item: 
‘‘Sec. 36. First-time homebuyer credit for nuclear affected communities.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATES.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall apply to the purchase of a principal 
residence after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
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SEC. 5. INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS PRIZE COMPETITION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 
establish a competitive prize competition (referred to in 
this section as the ‘‘prize competition’’) to award prizes 
to proposals for affected communities to carry out alter-
natives to nuclear facilities, generating sites, and waste 
sites. 
(b) PRIZE BOARD.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an 
advisory board (referred to in this section as the 
‘‘Board’’) to advise the Administrator on— 
(A) the design and implementation of the 
prize competition; and 
(B) the development of the pilot project 
under subsection (d). 
(2) COMPOSITION.—The Board shall be com-
posed of not fewer than 9 members appointed by the 
Administrator— 
(A) who shall provide expertise in— 
(i) nuclear waste; 
(ii) workforce issues; 
(iii) technology development; and 
(iv) economic development; and 
(B) who may include representatives 
from— 
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(i) The National Laboratories; 
(ii) nonprofit organizations; and 
(iii) institutions of higher education. 
(c) AWARD AMOUNT.—An award under the prize 
competition shall be in the amount of $500,000. 
(d) PILOT PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in con-
sultation with the Board, shall develop a pilot 
project based on the proposal of the winner of the 
prize competition. 
(2) FUNDING.—Of the amounts made available 
under section 7, the Administrator may use 
$500,000 to carry out the pilot project under para-
graph (1). 
(e) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date 
on which a prize is awarded under the prize competition, 
the Administrator shall submit to the relevant committees 
of Congress a report that describes the winning proposal 
of the prize competition. 
SEC. 6. ECONOMIC IMPACT GRANTS FOR AFFECTED COM-
MUNITIES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 120 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 
establish and carry out a noncompetitive grant program 
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to provide grants under either section 6(b) or section 6(c) 
to nuclear-affected communities for the purpose of— 
(1) offsetting the economic and social impacts 
of stranded nuclear waste on affected communities; 
and 
(2) supporting such communities that are in the 
process of decommissioning an eligible civilian nu-
clear power plant and that are facing decreased tax 
revenues or assessed valuation as a result of such 
decommissioning. 
(b) AWARDS
BASED
ON
STRANDED
NUCLEAR 
WASTE.— 
(1) ELIGIBILITY.—A nuclear affected commu-
nity shall be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section for a fiscal year. 
(2) AWARDS.— 
(A) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant 
awarded under subsection (a) shall be equal to 
$15 for each kilogram of spent nuclear fuel 
stored at the eligible civilian nuclear power 
plant in the nuclear affected community, con-
sistent with the price paid per kilogram for im-
pact assistance outlined in the Nuclear Waste 
Policy Act of 1982. 
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(B) NUMBER AND FREQUENCY.—With re-
spect to each eligible civilian nuclear power 
plant, the Administrator shall request submis-
sions from affected nuclear communities and 
may only award 1 grant under subsection (a) to 
each eligible unit of local government for each 
fiscal year. 
(c) AWARDS BASED ON LOST TAX REVENUE.— 
(1) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive fi-
nancial assistance under this section, the affected 
community shall submit to the Administrator an ap-
plication that includes documentation that the nu-
clear affected community has experienced, or is pre-
dicted to experience, during a calendar year begin-
ning after December 31, 2014, and ending before 
January 1, 2026— 
(A) a reduction of not less than 20 percent 
in overall tax revenue received by such affected 
community for such year compared with the av-
erage of such tax revenue for the previous 5 
years; and 
(B) a reduction in tax revenue attributable 
to a nuclear power plant received by such af-
fected community for such year, compared with 
the average of such tax revenue for the previous 
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5 years, that is not less than 20 percent of the 
average for such previous 5 years of the overall 
tax revenue received by such unit. 
For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘‘tax rev-
enue’’ includes any payment in lieu of taxes received 
by an affected community. 
(2) ASSISTANCE.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to amounts 
made available in advance in appropriations 
Acts, financial assistance provided under this 
section to a nuclear affected community shall be 
made with respect to each year of the 8-year 
period beginning on the first day of the cal-
endar year described in paragraph (1). 
(B) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—Subject to 
amounts made available in advance in appro-
priations Acts, financial assistance provided 
under this section to a nuclear affected commu-
nity for a year of an 8-year period shall be 
equal to the lesser of $10,000,000 and— 
(i) in the case of the first year of the 
8-year period, 80 percent of the loss de-
scribed in paragraph (1)(B) with respect to 
such unit; 
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(ii) in the case of the second year of 
the 8-year period, 70 percent of such loss; 
(iii) in the case of the third year of 
the 8-year period, 60 percent of such loss; 
(iv) in the case of the fourth year of 
the 8-year period, 50 percent of such loss; 
(v) in the case of the fifth year of the 
8-year period, 40 percent of such loss; 
(vi) in the case of the sixth year of 
the 8-year period, 30 percent of such loss; 
(vii) in the case of the seventh year of 
the 8-year period, 20 percent of such loss; 
and 
(viii) in the case of the eighth year of 
the 8-year period, 10 percent of such loss. 
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out this Act $110,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2021 through 2026 and $120,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031. 
(b) NO OFFSET.—None of the funds made available 
under this section may be used to offset the funding for 
any other Federal program. 
(c) LIMITATION.—No nuclear affected community 
may receive more than one grant per calendar year, and 
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