Title: Advancing U.S. Civil Nuclear Competitiveness and Jobs Act
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Advancing U.S. Civil Nuclear Competitiveness and Jobs Act
This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to report to Congress on U.S. civil nuclear commerce, including an assessment of how regulations, policies, and legal requirements affect the ability of civilian nuclear facilities to compete internationally.
The bill revises DOE authority to delegate functions concerning transfers of nuclear technology to a covered foreign country.
DOE shall expedite technology transfers that are not inimical to U.S. interests and that involve low-proliferation-risk reactor activity to a foreign country that is not a nuclear-weapon state, other than the United Kingdom or France.
The Government Accountability Office shall report to Congress regarding DOE actions with respect to the retrospective risk pooling program, in which nuclear suppliers cover the cost of an incident outside the United States that is not covered by funds available for a public liability.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6351 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6351

To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to improve the process by which 
  the Secretary of Energy authorizes the transfer of civilian nuclear 
      commerce technology and assistance, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 12, 2018

 Mr. Johnson of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was referred 
 to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee 
 on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to improve the process by which 
  the Secretary of Energy authorizes the transfer of civilian nuclear 
      commerce technology and assistance, 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 ``Advancing U.S. Civil Nuclear 
Competitiveness and Jobs Act''.

SEC. 2. REVIEW OF CIVIL NUCLEAR COMMERCE.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall develop and submit to Congress 
a report on United States civil nuclear commerce.
    (b) Consultation.--In developing the report required under 
subsection (a), the Secretary of Energy shall consult with--
            (1) the Secretary of State;
            (2) the Secretary of Commerce;
            (3) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
        Agency; and
            (4) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
    (c) Contents.--The report required under subsection (a) shall 
include--
            (1) an assessment of--
                    (A) current legal, regulatory, policy, and 
                commercial practices of the United States with respect 
                to the civilian nuclear industry of the United States; 
                and
                    (B) the impacts of such practices on such civilian 
                nuclear industry in the United States and in 
                international markets;
            (2) a comparison of the practices of the United States 
        described in paragraph (1) to practices of foreign countries 
        with respect to the civilian nuclear industry of such 
        countries;
            (3) recommendations to improve the competitiveness of 
        United States civil nuclear commerce; and
            (4) options on how to apply section 170 of the Atomic 
        Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210) (commonly known as the 
        ``Price-Anderson Act'') with respect to advanced nuclear 
        technologies.

SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENTS TO PART 810 PROCESS.

    (a) Clarification on Prohibition of Delegation.--Section 161 n. of 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2201(n)) is amended by 
striking ``57 b.'' and inserting ``57 b. (only with respect to 
enrichment and reprocessing of special nuclear material)''.
    (b) Expedited Procedures.--Section 57 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
2077(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(f) Expedited Procedures.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--In carrying out subsection b.(2), the 
        Secretary of Energy shall establish procedures for expedited 
        consideration of requests for authorizations regarding the 
        transfer of a technology that involves a low-proliferation-risk 
        reactor activity described in paragraph (2) to a foreign 
        country described in paragraph (3).
            ``(2) Activities.--A low-proliferation-risk reactor 
        activity described in this paragraph is an activity that meets 
        each of following criteria:
                    ``(A) The activity is listed in section 810.2(b) of 
                title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on 
                March 25, 2015.
                    ``(B) The activity is not an activity requiring a 
                specific authorization pursuant to section 810.7(c) of 
                such title, as in effect on such date.
                    ``(C) The Secretary determines that the transfer 
                (or retransfer) of a technology that involves the 
                activity will not result in a significant increase of 
                the risk of proliferation beyond such risk that exists 
                at the time that the authorization is requested.
            ``(3) Foreign countries.--A foreign country described in 
        this paragraph is a foreign country--
                    ``(A) that is not a nuclear-weapon state, as 
                defined by Article IX(3) of the Treaty on the Non-
                Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, signed at Washington, 
                London, and Moscow on July 1, 1968, other than the 
                United Kingdom or France; and
                    ``(B) with respect to which the Secretary 
                determines under subsection b.(2) that a transfer to 
                the country of a technology that involves a low-
                proliferation-risk reactor activity described in 
                paragraph (2) of this subsection will not be inimical 
                to the interest of the United States.
            ``(4) Concurrence and consultation.--The Secretary of 
        Energy shall establish the procedures under paragraph (1) with 
        the concurrence of the Department of State and after 
        consultation with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the 
        Department of Commerce, and the Department of Defense.
            ``(5) Timing and availability.--The procedures established 
        under paragraph (1) shall--
                    ``(A) ensure that each request is approved or 
                denied by not later than 45 days after the later of--
                            ``(i) the date on which the foreign country 
                        transmits any required assurances to the 
                        Department of State; or
                            ``(ii) the date on which the interagency 
                        review under subsection b. is completed; and
                    ``(B) be publicly available.''.
    (c) Assurances.--Section 57 b.(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
2077(b)(2)) is amended by inserting after ``mechanisms.'' the following 
new sentence: ``To the extent practicable, the Secretary of Energy 
shall continue to process such requests during such interagency review 
in a manner that enables the Secretary to make such determination as 
soon as practicable after the receipt of assurances by a foreign 
country to the Department of State, if any such assurances are 
required.''.
    (d) Sense of Congress on e810.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Secretary of Energy should continue the ongoing 
        Process Improvement Plan for authorizations pursuant to section 
        57 b.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 
        2077(b)(2)); and
            (2) Congress is supportive of the progress made by the 
        Secretary in such process and is especially interested in the 
        continued work for the electronic submissions portal for such 
        applications known as ``e810''.

SEC. 4. RISK POOLING PROGRAM.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Comptroller General shall carry out a review of, and 
submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of 
the Senate a report on, the Secretary of Energy's actions with respect 
to the program described in section 934(e) of the Energy Independence 
and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17373(e)).
    (b) Contents.--The report described in subsection (a) shall 
include--
            (1) an assessment of the Secretary of Energy's actions to 
        determine the risk-informed assessment formula under section 
        934(e)(2)(C) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 
        2007;
            (2) a review of the Secretary of Energy's methodology to 
        collect information to determine and implement the formula; and
            (3) an evaluation of the program described in section 
        934(e) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 
        U.S.C. 17373(e)), including the Secretary of Energy's actions 
        with respect to such program.
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