I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6346 
To update oversight and inspection practices of the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 9, 2023 
Mrs. LESKO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To update oversight and inspection practices of the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, 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 ‘‘Advancing Nuclear 
Regulatory Oversight Act’’. 
SEC. 2. IMPLEMENTING LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE 
COVID–19 HEALTH EMERGENCY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall sub-
mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 
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on actions taken by the Commission during the public 
health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, with 
respect to COVID–19. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub-
section (a) shall— 
(1) identify any processes, procedures, and 
other regulatory policies that the Commission re-
vised or temporarily suspended during the public 
health emergency described in subsection (a); 
(2) examine how any revision or temporary sus-
pension of a process, procedure, or other regulatory 
policy identified under paragraph (1) affected the 
ability of the Commission to license and regulate the 
civilian use of radioactive materials in the United 
States to protect public health and safety, promote 
the common defense and security, and protect the 
environment; 
(3) discuss lessons learned from the matters de-
scribed in paragraph (2); 
(4) list actions that the Commission has taken 
or will take to incorporate into the licensing and 
oversight activities of the Commission, without com-
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promising the mission of the Commission, the les-
sons described in paragraph (3); and 
(5) describe when the actions listed under para-
graph (4) were implemented or may be implemented. 
SEC. 3. ADVANCING EFFICIENT, RISK-INFORMED OVER-
SIGHT AND INSPECTIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall de-
velop and submit to the appropriate committees of Con-
gress a report that identifies specific improvements to the 
nuclear reactor and materials oversight and inspection 
programs carried out pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act 
of 1954 that the Commission may implement to maximize 
the efficiency of such programs through, where appro-
priate, the use of risk-informed, performance-based proce-
dures, expanded incorporation of information technologies, 
and staff training. 
(b) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.—In developing the report 
under subsection (a), the Commission shall, as appro-
priate, seek input from— 
(1) the Secretary of Energy; 
(2) the National Laboratories; 
(3) the nuclear energy industry; and 
(4) nongovernmental organizations that are re-
lated to nuclear energy. 
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(c) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub-
section (a) shall— 
(1) assess specific elements of oversight and in-
spections that may be modified by the use of tech-
nology, improved planning, and continually updated 
risk-informed, performance-based assessment, in-
cluding— 
(A) use of travel resources; 
(B) planning and preparation for inspec-
tions, including entrance and exit meetings with 
licensees and consideration of whether inspec-
tion teams need to be onsite; 
(C) document collection and preparation, 
including consideration of whether nuclear reac-
tor data are accessible without onsite visits or 
requests to the licensee and that document re-
quests are timely and within the scope of in-
spections; 
(D) the cross-cutting issues program; and 
(E) the scope of event reporting required 
by licensees to ensure decisions are risk-in-
formed; 
(2) identify and assess measures to improve 
oversight and inspections, including— 
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(A) elimination of areas of duplicative or 
otherwise unnecessary activities; 
(B) increased use of templates in docu-
menting inspection results; and 
(C) periodic training of Commission staff 
and leadership on the application of risk-in-
formed criteria for— 
(i) inspection planning and assess-
ments; 
(ii) agency decision making processes 
on the application of regulations and guid-
ance; and 
(iii) the application of the Commis-
sion’s standard of reasonable assurance of 
adequate protection; 
(3) assess measures to advance risk-informed 
procedures, including— 
(A) increased use of inspection approaches 
that balance the level of resources commensu-
rate with safety significance; 
(B) increased review of the use of inspec-
tion program resources based on licensee per-
formance; 
(C) expansion of modern information tech-
nology, including artificial intelligence and ma-
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chine learning to risk inform oversight and in-
spection decisions; and 
(D) updating the Differing Professional 
Views or Opinions process to include— 
(i) safety significance as a threshold 
for entering such process; and 
(ii) guidance for issue resolution to 
minimize the impact of such process on 
project schedules; 
(4) assess the ability of the Commission, con-
sistent with its obligations to provide reasonable as-
surance of adequate protection of health and safety 
pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, to en-
able licensee innovations that may advance nuclear 
reactor operational efficiency and safety, including 
the criteria of the Commission for timely acceptance 
of licensee adoption of advanced technologies, includ-
ing digital technologies; 
(5) identify recommendations resulting from the 
assessments described in paragraphs (1) through 
(4); 
(6) identify specific actions that the Commis-
sion will take to incorporate into the training, in-
spection, oversight, and licensing activities, and reg-
ulations of the Commission, without compromising 
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the mission of the Commission, the recommenda-
tions identified under paragraph (5); and 
(7) describe when the actions identified under 
paragraph (6) may be implemented. 
SEC. 4. OFFICE AND FACILITY SPACE REVIEW. 
(a) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall— 
(1) review office and other facility space re-
quirements of the Commission; and 
(2) submit to the appropriate committees of 
Congress a report, with recommendations, on the re-
sults of such review. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The report described in subsection 
(a) shall include— 
(1) an examination of— 
(A) the costs associated with the head-
quarters, regional offices, and technical training 
center of the Commission, including examina-
tion of— 
(i) costs that do not support the Com-
mission’s mission, including rent subsidies 
for other Federal agencies; and 
(ii) opportunities to reduce future 
costs through reduction in unnecessary of-
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fice space, consolidation of offices, use of 
advanced information technology, or any 
other appropriate means; and 
(B) current and anticipated office and fa-
cility requirements to efficiently accomplish the 
mission of the Commission; and 
(2) recommendations to Congress, the Commis-
sion, and the General Services Administration for 
actions that may assist in reducing office and facility 
costs to licensees and taxpayers. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) 
APPROPRIATE
COMMITTEES
OF
CON-
GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con-
gress’’ means the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Environment and Public Works of the 
Senate. 
(2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 
(3) LICENSEE.—The term ‘‘licensee’’ means a 
person that holds a license issued under section 103 
or section 104 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 
(42 U.S.C. 2133; 2134). 
Æ 
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