NRC Survey Act
Bill: H.R.9351 | Sponsor: Rep. Donalds, Byron (R-FL)
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Survey Act or the NRC Survey Act
This bill requires the inspector general of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to distribute surveys about NRC's efficiency and effectiveness. The inspector general must first draft and distribute an optional and anonymous survey to NRC's employees. If feasible, the inspector general must also draft and distribute a similar survey to stakeholders in the nuclear industry.

To require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to distribute an optional 
and anonymous survey to certain Commission employees to ultimately find 
     solutions to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the 
                  Commission, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Nuclear Regulatory Commission Survey 
Act'' or the ``NRC Survey Act''.

SEC. 2. NRC SURVEY.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Commission is an independent agency created by 
        Congress in 1974 to ensure the safe use of radioactive 
        materials and nuclear power for beneficial civilian purposes 
        while protecting people and the environment.
            (2) The mission of the Commission is to regulate the 
        national civilian use of nuclear byproducts, nuclear sources, 
        and special nuclear materials to ensure adequate protection of 
        public health and safety, to promote the common defense and 
        security, and to protect the environment.
            (3) Before commercial nuclear technology can be deployed in 
        the United States, it must be approved by the Commission.
            (4) Historically, the Commission has been a thorough, 
        methodical, and conservative agency and is considered to be the 
        gold standard in the world with respect to regulating nuclear 
        power.
            (5) The Commission is a technically competent agency that 
        seeks strategies to successfully modernize its approach to 
        license the next generation of nuclear reactors.
            (6) Current licensing procedures through the Commission are 
        very prescriptive and based primarily on conventional 
        pressurized water reactor designs that have the potential to 
        restrict nuclear innovation.
            (7) The existing design, licensing, and delivery processes 
        for new reactor projects are extremely expensive and have 
        lengthy timelines compared to such design, licensing, and 
        delivery processes in other countries.
            (8) The Commission reports directly to Congress each year 
        and is an independent agency that is not a part of the 
        executive branch.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that Congress--
            (1) recognizes the need for the Commission to maintain 
        public trust by keeping the nuclear industry safe while also 
        recognizing the need for increased efficiency to license 
        nuclear reactors in the United States;
            (2) understands that asking for continued transparency from 
        the Commission relating to the development and licensing of 
        nuclear reactors is important for Congress and the American 
        public;
            (3) stresses the need for the Commission to modernize its 
        regulatory regime to facilitate efficient licensing of 
        innovative next-generation nuclear technology; and
            (4) believes that unnecessarily long licensing reviews 
        raise significant barriers to investment, reduce customer 
        interest in advanced reactors, and threaten the long-term 
        deployment potential of nuclear reactors for the next 
        generation.
    (c) NRC Employee Survey.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the inspector general shall draft and 
        distribute an optional and anonymous survey, in accordance with 
        paragraphs (3) and (4), to covered employees.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
        distributing the survey to covered employees pursuant to 
        paragraph (1), the inspector general shall submit to the 
        appropriate congressional committees a report containing--
                    (A) an unbiased cumulative summary of the responses 
                to each question of such survey;
                    (B) a document that contains every individual 
                response to each question of such survey; and
                    (C) any other information the inspector general 
                determines necessary or appropriate.
            (3) Contents of survey.--The survey drafted and distributed 
        under paragraph (1) shall inquire about the following:
                    (A) Any enhancements that can be made to existing 
                licensing frameworks utilized by the Commission to 
                increase the efficiency, timeliness, and predictability 
                of engagements between the Commission and licensees.
                    (B) How the Commission could improve the process of 
                preparing for and learning about the technical details 
                of each proposed nuclear reactor in a licensing 
                application.
                    (C) How the Commission could improve outreach to 
                stakeholders, including any recommendations with 
                respect to changing the existing policies of the 
                Commission relating to public engagement.
                    (D) Whether the Commission implemented a risk-
                informed and performance-based approach to reviewing 
                licensing applications and, if implemented, how the 
                Commission has implemented such approach to reviewing 
                licensing applications.
                    (E) Examples of laws or regulations relating to 
                nuclear energy that--
                            (i) may be unnecessary, irrelevant, or 
                        duplicative;
                            (ii) need to be revised for modern advanced 
                        reactors; and
                            (iii) negatively affects the effectiveness 
                        and efficiency of the Commission.
                    (F) How the Commission could maximize the 
                efficiency of licensing reactors that are similar to 
                reactors that are already licensed by the Commission.
                    (G) How efficient the Commission would be in 
                reviewing licensing applications if the Commission 
                reviewed licensing applications through a holistic 
                approach instead of a chapter-by-chapter approach.
                    (H) How providing clear expectations and targets 
                for achievable review milestones for potential 
                applicants would affect the process of reviewing and 
                approving licensing applications.
                    (I) Suggestions for Congress to revise or clarify 
                any terms and definitions relating to nuclear energy 
                that--
                            (i) are used within the scope of employment 
                        for covered employees;
                            (ii) may be outdated;
                            (iii) have inconsistencies in term usage or 
                        definitions across different laws and 
                        regulations; or
                            (iv) with respect to terms and definitions 
                        relating to nuclear energy in laws and 
                        regulations, used within the scope of 
                        employment for covered employees.
                    (J) Any term, and the corresponding definition, 
                relating to nuclear energy and nuclear waste matters in 
                laws and regulations, that are used within the scope of 
                employment for covered employees, that--
                            (i) may be outdated and in need of 
                        revision;
                            (ii) have--
                                    (I) inconsistencies in the 
                                definition of such term across 
                                different laws and regulations; or
                                    (II) inconsistencies in the 
                                definition of such term across 
                                different agencies; and
                            (iii) may affect potential innovation in 
                        the nuclear industry due to the inconsistencies 
                        described in clause (ii) in the definition of 
                        such term.
                    (K) Suggestions to Congress to clarify any 
                inconsistencies described in paragraph (3)(J)(ii).
                    (L) Whether covered employees feel a sense of 
                urgency when reviewing a licensing application.
                    (M) Whether covered employees believe that the lack 
                of efficient licensing is hampering nuclear innovation 
                and dissuading American companies from getting involved 
                in the nuclear industry.
                    (N) Whether covered employees believe that the 
                Commission is capable of approving potentially hundreds 
                of new licensing applications, including licensing 
                applications for fission reactors and fusion reactors, 
                in a timely manner over the course of the upcoming 
                decades.
                    (O) Suggestions to redefine the overall mission 
                statement and mandate of the Commission so that such 
                mission statement and mandate reflects the goals of 
                maintaining safety and promoting nuclear innovation.
                    (P) Challenges a covered employee faces on a daily 
                basis within the scope of employment of such covered 
                employee and how Congress could alleviate such 
                challenges.
                    (Q) How the current funding structure of the 
                Commission affects the ability of the Commission to--
                            (i) engage in rulemaking or licensing 
                        review;
                            (ii) educate covered employees; and
                            (iii) conduct research to support risk-
                        informed and performance-based regulations.
                    (R) How the current funding structure of the 
                Commission may inhibit private companies from--
                            (i) rapidly acquiring licenses for new 
                        nuclear reactors; and
                            (ii) suggesting improvements to the 
                        Commission, if any, to such funding structure.
                    (S) Any obstacles imposed by the Commission that--
                            (i) negatively affect American nuclear 
                        competitiveness; and
                            (ii) should be removed.
                    (T) How the Commission could improve the resolution 
                of disagreements between applicants and covered 
                employees.
                    (U) Recommendations on improving communication 
                between the Commission and applicants with respect to 
                providing an early and predictable timeline and 
                estimated costs of the licensing application process, 
                including preapplication review and application review.
                    (V) Whether the Advisory Committee on Reactor 
                Safeguards (established under section 29 of the Atomic 
                Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2039)) is effectively and 
                efficiently reviewing safety studies and licensing 
                applications, or whether the role of the Advisory 
                Committee on Reactor Safeguards--
                            (i) is unnecessary and redundant with the 
                        existing review process by the Commission; and
                            (ii) ultimately impedes nuclear innovation.
                    (W) How the Commission is using artificial 
                intelligence, whether the functions of the Commission 
                could be improved if the Commission adopted an AI-
                friendly culture, and what organizational challenges 
                the Commission would face in adopting and using a 
                broader range of artificial intelligence.
                    (X) How digitizing old data and information may 
                improve the overall efficiency of the Commission, the 
                steps taken to digitize such data and information, and 
                any challenges the Commission is facing or will face in 
                digitizing such data and information.
                    (Y) Challenges the Commission faces with relying on 
                data from safety and performance data simulations of 
                proposed nuclear reactors during the application 
                review.
                    (Z) How effective the Commission is at 
                communicating to applicants, potential applicants, and 
                nuclear stakeholders about changes made to the 
                regulatory process.
                    (AA) Whether any new requirements or processes 
                implemented following the nuclear accident in Fukushima 
                may have inadvertently changed the culture and safety 
                precautions of the Commission in a negative manner, 
                including any unnecessary and burdensome regulations 
                that were promulgated due to such nuclear accident.
                    (BB) How to make the budget and fee processes of 
                the Commission more transparent.
                    (CC) Whether the Commission is taking appropriate 
                actions to hire highly skilled, technical individuals 
                to prepare for the future influx of licensing new 
                nuclear reactors.
                    (DD) Whether the Federal Government should 
                standardize the definition of nuclear waste.
                    (EE) The effectiveness of topical reports in the 
                licensing process, how topical reports improve the 
                efficiency of the licensing process, any challenges 
                that are involved with topical reports, and suggestions 
                on how to improve the timeliness of reviewing and 
                approving topical reports.
                    (FF) In the event the use of a topic report is not 
                applicable, the effectiveness of other forms of 
                preapplication engagement, including how the Commission 
                and potential applicants may reach a resolution or 
                binding conclusions on key issues in a timely manner.
                    (GG) How the Commission could navigate 
                environmental impact statements in an efficient and 
                effective manner, and any challenges that arise while 
                performing and reviewing environmental impact 
                statements.
                    (HH) Any lessons the Commission can learn from 
                foreign governmental agencies that govern nuclear 
                energy.
                    (II) Any other question that the inspector general, 
                in consultation with the Commissioners of the 
                Commission, determines appropriate.
            (4) Additional language.--The survey drafted and 
        distributed under paragraph (1) shall include at the top of the 
        survey a statement that--
                    (A) describes the intent of this Act in relation to 
                the purpose of the survey drafted and distributed under 
                paragraph (1); and
                    (B) assures covered employees that there will be no 
                repercussions or consequences from taking such survey.
    (d) Stakeholder Survey.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the inspector general shall, if 
        feasible, draft and distribute a survey similar to the survey 
        under subsection (c) to stakeholders in the nuclear industry in 
        accordance with this subsection.
            (2) Participation.--
                    (A) Stakeholder request.--If feasible, in 
                distributing a survey under paragraph (1), the 
                inspector general shall distribute such survey to a 
                stakeholder in the nuclear industry only upon request 
                by such stakeholder.
                    (B) Anonymity.--If feasible, the inspector general 
                shall establish a process that allows stakeholders in 
                the nuclear industry to anonymously request to 
                participate in the survey under subsection (a).
                    (C) Notification.--If stakeholders in the nuclear 
                industry are able to anonymously request to participate 
                in the survey under this subsection, not later than 5 
                days after the date the Commission distributes the 
                survey described in subsection (c), the inspector 
                general shall notify such stakeholders that have 
                previously engaged with the Commission, and such 
                stakeholders that are engaged in discussions with the 
                Commission at a time after the date of enactment of 
                this Act, about the opportunity to participate in the 
                survey under paragraph (1).
            (3) Report.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
        distributing the survey described in paragraph (1), the 
        inspector general shall transmit to the appropriate 
        congressional committees a report, accompanying the report in 
        subsection (c)(2), containing--
                    (A) an unbiased cumulative summary of the responses 
                to each question of such survey;
                    (B) a document that contains each individual 
                response to each question of such survey; and
                    (C) any other information the inspector general 
                determines necessary or appropriate.
    (e) Excluded Activity From Cost-Recovery Requirement.--Section 
102(b)(1)(B) of the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act 
(Public Law 115-439; 132 Stat. 5565) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
                            ``(iv) Costs for activities related to 
                        drafting and distributing surveys under the 
                        Nuclear Regulatory Commission Survey Act.''.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the 
                Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
                and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of 
                the Senate.
            (2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Nuclear 
        Regulatory Commission.
            (3) Covered employee.--The term ``covered employee'' means 
        any applicable employee of the Commission.
            (4) Inspector general.--The term ``inspector general'' 
        means the inspector general of the Commission.
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