I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3382
To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and the Energy Reorganization
Act of 1974 to strengthen security at sensitive nuclear facilities.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 29, 2001
Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Mrs. LOWEY) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and the Energy
Reorganization Act of 1974 to strengthen security at
sensitive nuclear facilities.
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 ‘‘Nuclear Security Act
of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
Section 11 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42
U.S.C. 2014) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection jj. as subsection
ii.; and
‘‘SEC. 170C. PROTECTION OF SENSITIVE NUCLEAR FACILI-
TIES AGAINST THE DESIGN BASIS THREAT.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) NUCLEAR
SECURITY
FORCE.—The term
‘nuclear security force’ means the nuclear security
force established under subsection (b)(1).
‘‘(2) FUND.—The term ‘Fund’ means the Nu-
clear Security Fund established under subsection (f).
‘‘(3) QUALIFICATION
STANDARD.—The term
‘qualification standard’ means a qualification stand-
ard established under subsection (e)(2)(A).
‘‘(4) SECURITY PLAN.—The term ‘security plan’
means a security plan developed under subsection
(b)(2).
‘‘(b) NUCLEAR SECURITY.—The Commission shall—
‘‘(1) establish a nuclear security force, the
members of which shall be employees of the Com-
mission, to provide for the security of all sensitive
nuclear facilities against the design basis threat; and
‘‘(2) develop and implement a security plan for
each sensitive nuclear facility to ensure the security
of all sensitive nuclear facilities against the design
basis threat.
‘‘(c) DESIGN BASIS THREAT.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days
after the date of enactment of this section, and at
least once every 3 years thereafter, the Commission,
in consultation with the Assistant to the President
for Homeland Security, the Attorney General, the
Secretary of Defense, and other Federal, State, and
local agencies, as appropriate, shall revise the design
basis threat to include—
‘‘(A) threats equivalent to—
‘‘(i) the events of September 11,
2001;
‘‘(ii) a physical, cyber, biochemical, or
other terrorist threat;
‘‘(iii) an attack on a facility by mul-
tiple coordinated teams of a large number
of individuals;
‘‘(iv) assistance in an attack from sev-
eral persons employed at the facility;
‘‘(v) a suicide attack;
‘‘(vi) a water-based or air-based
threat;
‘‘(vii) the use of explosive devices of
considerable size and other modern weap-
onry;
‘‘(viii) an attack by persons with a so-
phisticated knowledge of the operations of
a sensitive nuclear facility; and
‘‘(ix) fire, especially a fire of long du-
ration; and
‘‘(B) any other threat that the Commission
determines should be included as an element of
the design basis threat.
‘‘(2) REPORTS.—The Commission shall submit
to Congress a report on each revision made under
paragraph (1).
‘‘(d) SECURITY PLANS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this section, the Com-
mission shall develop a security plan for each sen-
sitive nuclear facility to ensure the protection of
each sensitive nuclear facility against the design
basis threat.
‘‘(2) ELEMENTS
OF
THE
PLAN.—A security
plan shall prescribe—
‘‘(A) the deployment of the nuclear secu-
rity force, including—
‘‘(i) numbers of the members of the
nuclear security force at each sensitive nu-
clear facility;
‘‘(ii) tactics of the members of the nu-
clear security force at each sensitive nu-
clear facility; and
‘‘(iii) capabilities of the members of
the nuclear security force at each sensitive
nuclear facility;
‘‘(B) 
other 
protective 
measures,
including—
‘‘(i) designs of critical control systems
at each sensitive nuclear facility;
‘‘(ii) restricted personnel access to
each sensitive nuclear facility;
‘‘(iii) perimeter site security, internal
site security, and fire protection barriers;
‘‘(iv) increases in protection for spent
fuel storage areas;
‘‘(v) placement of spent fuel in dry
cask storage; and
‘‘(vi) background security checks for
employees and prospective employees; and
‘‘(C) a schedule for completing the require-
ments of the security plan not later than 18
months after the date of enactment of this sec-
tion.
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL
REQUIREMENTS.—A holder
of a license for a sensitive nuclear facility under sec-
tion 103 or 104 or the State or local government in
which a sensitive nuclear facility is located may peti-
tion the Commission for additional requirements in
the security plan for the sensitive nuclear facility.
‘‘(4) IMPLEMENTATION OF SECURITY PLAN.—
Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment
of this section, the Commission, in consultation with
a holder of a license for a sensitive nuclear facility
under section 103 or 104, shall, by direct action of
the Commission or by order requiring action by the
licensee, implement the security plan for the sen-
sitive nuclear facility in accordance with the schedule
under paragraph (2)(C).
‘‘(5) SUFFICIENCY OF SECURITY PLAN.—If at
any time the Commission determines that the imple-
mentation of the requirements of the security plan
for a sensitive nuclear facility is insufficient to en-
sure the security of the sensitive nuclear facility
against the design basis threat, the Commission
shall immediately submit to Congress and the Presi-
dent a classified report that—
‘‘(A) identifies the vulnerability of the sen-
sitive nuclear facility; and
‘‘(B) recommends actions by Federal,
State, or local agencies to eliminate the vulner-
ability.
‘‘(e) NUCLEAR SECURITY FORCE.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this section, the
Commission, in consultation with other Federal
agencies, as appropriate, shall establish a program
for the hiring and training of the nuclear security
force.
‘‘(2) HIRING.—
‘‘(A) QUALIFICATION
STANDARDS.—Not
later than 30 days after the date of enactment
of this section, the Commission shall establish
qualification standards that individuals shall be
required to meet to be hired by the Commission
as members of the nuclear security force.
‘‘(B) 
EXAMINATION.—The 
Commission
shall develop and administer a nuclear security
force personnel examination for use in deter-
mining the qualification of individuals seeking
employment as members of the nuclear security
force.
‘‘(C) CRIMINAL
AND
SECURITY
BACK-
GROUND CHECKS.—The Commission shall re-
quire that an individual to be hired as a mem-
ber of the nuclear security force undergo a
criminal and security background check.
‘‘(D) DISQUALIFICATION OF INDIVIDUALS
WHO
PRESENT
NATIONAL
SECURITY
RISKS.—
The Commission, in consultation with the heads
of other Federal agencies, as appropriate, shall
establish procedures, in addition to any back-
ground check conducted under subparagraph
(B), to ensure that no individual who presents
a threat to national security is employed as a
member of the nuclear security force.
‘‘(3) ANNUAL PROFICIENCY REVIEW.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall
provide that an annual evaluation of each mem-
ber of the nuclear security force is conducted
and documented.
‘‘(B) 
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
CONTINU-
ATION.—An individual employed as a member
of the nuclear security force may not continue
to be employed in that capacity unless the eval-
uation under subparagraph (A) demonstrates
that the individual—
‘‘(i) continues to meet all qualification
standards;
‘‘(ii) has a satisfactory record of per-
formance and attention to duty; and
‘‘(iii) has the knowledge and skills
necessary to vigilantly and effectively pro-
vide for the security of a sensitive nuclear
facility against the design basis threat.
‘‘(4) TRAINING.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall
provide for the training of each member of the
nuclear security force to ensure each member
has the knowledge and skills necessary to pro-
vide for the security of a sensitive nuclear facil-
ity against the design basis threat.
‘‘(B) TRAINING PLAN.—Not later than 60
days after the date of enactment of this section,
the Commission shall develop a plan for the
training of members of the nuclear security
force.
‘‘(C) USE
OF
OTHER
AGENCIES.—The
Commission may enter into a memorandum of
understanding or other arrangement with any
other Federal agency with appropriate law en-
forcement responsibilities, to provide personnel,
resources, or other forms of assistance in the
training of members of the nuclear security
force.
‘‘(f) NUCLEAR SECURITY FUND.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in
the Treasury of the United States a fund to be
known as the ‘Nuclear Security Fund’, which shall
be used by the Commission to administer programs
under this section to provide for the security of sen-
sitive nuclear facilities.
‘‘(2) DEPOSITS IN THE FUND.—The Commis-
sion shall deposit in the Fund—
‘‘(A) the amount of fees collected under
paragraph (5); and
‘‘(B) amounts appropriated under sub-
section (g).
‘‘(3) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the
Treasury shall invest such portion of the Fund
as is not, in the judgment of the Secretary of
the Treasury, required to meet current with-
drawals. Investments may be made only in in-
terest-bearing obligations of the United States.
‘‘(B) ACQUISITION OF OBLIGATIONS.—For
the purpose of investments under subparagraph
(A), obligations may be acquired—
‘‘(i) on original issue at the issue
price; or
‘‘(ii) by purchase of outstanding obli-
gations at the market price.
‘‘(C) SALE OF OBLIGATIONS.—Any obliga-
tion acquired by the Fund may be sold by the
Secretary of the Treasury at the market price.
‘‘(D) CREDITS TO FUND.—The interest on,
and the proceeds from the sale or redemption
of, any obligations held in the Fund shall be
credited to and form a part of the Fund.
‘‘(4) USE OF AMOUNTS IN THE FUND.—The
Commission shall use amounts in the Fund to pay
the costs of—
‘‘(A) salaries, training, and other expenses
of the nuclear security force; and
‘‘(B) developing and implementing security
plans.
‘‘(5) FEE.—To ensure that adequate amounts
are available to provide assistance under paragraph
(4), the Commission shall assess licensees a fee in
an amount determined by the Commission.
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec-
essary to carry out this section.’’.
(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Commission shall com-
plete the full implementation of the amendment made by
subsection (a) as soon as practicable after the date of en-
actment of this Act, but in no event later than 270 days
after the date of enactment of this Act.
(c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—
The table of contents for chapter 14 of the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. prec. 2011) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘Sec. 170B. Uranium supply.
‘‘Sec. 170C. Protection of sensitive nuclear facilities against the design basis
threat.’’.
SEC. 4. OPERATION SAFEGUARDS AND RESPONSE UNIT.
Section 204 of the Energy Reorganization Act of
1974 (42 U.S.C. 5844) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘(d) OPERATION
SAFEGUARDS
AND
RESPONSE
UNIT.—
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:
‘‘(A) ASSISTANT
DIRECTOR.—The term
‘Assistant Director’ means the Assistant Direc-
tor for Operation Safeguards and Response.
‘‘(B) DESIGN BASIS THREAT.—The term
‘design basis threat’ has the meaning given the
term in section 11 of the Atomic Energy Act of
1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014).
‘‘(C) SENSITIVE NUCLEAR FACILITY.—The
term ‘sensitive nuclear facility’ has the meaning
given the term in section 11 of the Atomic En-
ergy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014).
‘‘(D) UNIT.—The term ‘Unit’ means the
Operation Safeguards and Response Unit estab-
lished under paragraph (2)(A).
‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established
within the Office of Nuclear Material Safety
and Safeguards the Operation Safeguards and
Response Unit.
‘‘(B) HEAD OF UNIT.—The Unit shall be
headed by the Assistant Director.
‘‘(C) DUTIES.—The Assistant Director
shall—
‘‘(i) establish a program for the con-
duct of operation safeguards and response
evaluations under paragraph (3); and
‘‘(ii) establish a program for the con-
duct of emergency response exercises under
paragraph (4).
‘‘(D) MOCK TERRORIST TEAM.—The per-
sonnel of the Unit shall include a Mock Ter-
rorist Team comprised of—
‘‘(i) not fewer than 20 individuals
with advanced knowledge of special weap-
ons and tactics comparable to special oper-
ations forces of the Armed Forces;
‘‘(ii) at least 1 nuclear engineer;
‘‘(iii) for each evaluation at a sensitive
nuclear facility under paragraph (3), at
least 1 individual with knowledge of the
operations of the sensitive nuclear facility
who is capable of actively disrupting the
normal operations of the sensitive nuclear
facility; and
‘‘(iv) any other individual that the As-
sistant Director determines should be a
member of the Mock Terrorist Team.
‘‘(3) OPERATION SAFEGUARDS AND RESPONSE
EVALUATIONS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this subsection,
the Assistant Director shall establish an oper-
ation safeguards and response evaluation pro-
gram to assess the ability of each sensitive nu-
clear facility to defend against the design basis
threat.
‘‘(B) FREQUENCY OF EVALUATIONS.—Not
less often than once every 2 years, the Assistant
Director shall conduct and document operation
safeguards and response evaluations at each
sensitive nuclear facility to assess the ability of
the members of the nuclear security force at the
sensitive nuclear facility to defend against the
design basis threat.
‘‘(C) ACTIVITIES.—The evaluation shall in-
clude 2 or more force-on-force exercises by the
Mock Terrorist Team against the sensitive nu-
clear facility that simulate air, water, and land
assaults (as appropriate).
‘‘(D) CRITERIA.—The Assistant Director
shall establish criteria for judging the success
of the evaluations.
‘‘(E) CORRECTIVE ACTION.—If a sensitive
nuclear facility fails to complete successfully an
operation safeguards and response evaluation,
the Commission shall require additional oper-
ation safeguards and response evaluations not
less often than once every 6 months until the
sensitive nuclear facility successfully completes
an operation safeguards and response evalua-
tion.
‘‘(F) REPORTS.—Not less often than once
every year, the Commission shall submit to the
Congress and the President a report that de-
scribes the results of each operation safeguards
and response evaluation under this paragraph
for the previous year.
‘‘(4) EMERGENCY RESPONSE EXERCISES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this subsection,
the Assistant Director, in consultation with the
Assistant to the President for Homeland Secu-
rity, the Director of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, the Attorney General, and
other Federal, State, and local agencies, as ap-
propriate, shall establish an emergency response
program to evaluate the ability of Federal,
State, and local emergency response personnel
within a 50-mile radius of a sensitive nuclear
facility to respond to a radiological emergency
at the sensitive nuclear facility.
‘‘(B) FREQUENCY.—Not less often than
once every 3 years, the Assistant Director shall
conduct emergency response exercises to evalu-
ate the ability of Federal, State, and local
emergency response personnel within a 50-mile
radius of a sensitive nuclear facility to respond
to a radiological emergency at the sensitive nu-
clear facility.
‘‘(C) ACTIVITIES.—The response exercises
shall evaluate—
‘‘(i) the response capabilities, response
times, and coordination and communica-
tion capabilities of the response personnel;
‘‘(ii) the effectiveness and adequacy of
emergency response plans, including evacu-
ation plans; and
‘‘(iii) the ability of response personnel
to distribute potassium iodide or other pro-
phylactic medicines in an expeditious man-
ner.
‘‘(D) REVISION OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE
PLANS.—The Commission shall revise the emer-
gency response plan for a sensitive nuclear fa-
cility to correct for any deficiencies identified by
an evaluation under this paragraph.
‘‘(E) REPORTS.—Not less often than once
every year, the Commission shall submit to
Congress and the President a report that
describes—
‘‘(i) the results of each emergency re-
sponse exercise under this paragraph con-
ducted in the previous year; and
‘‘(ii) each revision of an emergency re-
sponse plan made under subparagraph (D)
for the previous year.’’.
SEC. 5. POTASSIUM IODIDE.
(a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 19 of the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2015 et seq.) is amended by in-
serting after section 241 the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 242. POTASSIUM IODIDE.—Not later than 6
months after the date of the enactment of this section,
the Commission shall—
‘‘(1) ensure that stockpiles of potassium iodide
tablets sufficient to provide adequate protection to
the population have been established in individual
homes and at public facilities such as schools and
hospitals within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant;
‘‘(2) ensure that stockpiles of potassium iodide
tablets sufficient to provide adequate protection to
the population have been established at public facili-
ties such as schools and hospitals within the area be-
tween 50 and 200 miles of a nuclear power plant;
‘‘(3) establish a plan to provide for the utiliza-
tion of the stockpiles described in paragraphs (1)
and (2) by individuals located within 200 miles of a
nuclear power plant in the event of a release of
radionuclides, other than a release of amounts hav-
ing no significant public health consequences; and
‘‘(4) transmit to the Congress a report—
‘‘(A) on whether stockpiles have been es-
tablished as required by paragraphs (1) and
(2); and
‘‘(B) on the utilization plan required under
paragraph (3).’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table
of contents of chapter 19 of the Atomic Energy Act of
1954 is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 241 the following new item:
‘‘Sec. 242. Potassium iodide.’’.
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