Title: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should support the expansion of domestic nuclear energy and advanced nuclear technology as a viable source of power in order to promote United States nuclear energy leadership and global energy independence.
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that it is necessary to expand the use of nuclear energy in order to (1) meet the growing energy demands of the United States, and (2) promote American nuclear energy leadership while retaining U.S. economic viability in the worldwide nuclear energy marketplace.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1311 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1311

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
  States should support the expansion of domestic nuclear energy and 
  advanced nuclear technology as a viable source of power in order to 
   promote United States nuclear energy leadership and global energy 
                             independence.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 2, 2022

Mr. Donalds (for himself, Mr. Feenstra, Mr. Fleischmann, Mr. Owens, Ms. 
 Mace, Mr. Bacon, Mrs. Luria, Mr. Carter of Georgia, Mr. Phillips, Mr. 
  Rose, Mr. Gonzalez of Ohio, and Mr. Moore of Alabama) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
  Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, 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

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
  States should support the expansion of domestic nuclear energy and 
  advanced nuclear technology as a viable source of power in order to 
   promote United States nuclear energy leadership and global energy 
                             independence.

Whereas nuclear energy has generated one-fifth of the electricity used in the 
        United States since 1990;
Whereas the Secretary of Energy has stated that, ``nuclear energy is clean 
        energy and it is vital to creating good-paying jobs, supporting our 
        energy transition, and saving our planet'';
Whereas the International Energy Agency determined that nuclear power forms the 
        cornerstone of zero-carbon electricity generation;
Whereas conventional nuclear energy plants are highly reliable and consistently 
        operate over 92 percent of the time;
Whereas the generation of electricity from nuclear energy is up to 2 times more 
        reliable than the generation of electricity from natural gas and coal, 
        and up to 3.5 times more reliable than the generation of electricity 
        from wind and solar;
Whereas nuclear reactors produce substantially more energy relative to their 
        land footprint than solar and wind projects, which require over 30 times 
        and 100 times, respectfully, the land area for the same generating 
        capacity;
Whereas, in 2019, 476,000,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions were not 
        released into the atmosphere due to the utilization of nuclear energy in 
        the United States, which is equivalent to removing 100,000,000 cars off 
        the road;
Whereas conversely, in 2014, Vermont's Yankee Nuclear Plant closed and the State 
        saw a 650,000-metric ton increase in carbon dioxide emissions within 
        just 2 months;
Whereas electricity demand throughout the United States is predicted to increase 
        by approximately 34 percent by 2050;
Whereas, as of July 8, 2020, there are 28 States in which at least 1 commercial 
        nuclear reactor operates;
Whereas many States around the United States have enacted nuclear energy-related 
        laws and are in the process of adopting policies and appropriating 
        funding for the expansion of nuclear energy in their State;
Whereas nuclear energy facilities can easily repurpose retired fossil fuel power 
        plants by using existing infrastructure and transitioning fossil fuel 
        power plant workers that already understand the basics of the plant to 
        easily operate the nuclear energy facility;
Whereas, in 2022, nuclear energy supports over 475,000 jobs in the United 
        States;
Whereas building a conventional nuclear reactor employs up to 7,000 workers at 
        peak construction;
Whereas nuclear energy worker salaries are, on average, 50 percent higher than 
        the salaries of employees that work in other electricity generation 
        facilities;
Whereas the United States nuclear energy industry spends roughly $11,000,000,000 
        annually on labor, which is approximately $100,000,000 per reactor per 
        year;
Whereas, for every 100 jobs at a nuclear power plant in the United States, 66 
        other jobs are created in the local community;
Whereas nearly 1 in 4 nuclear energy workers are veterans;
Whereas nuclear energy adds approximately $60,000,000,000 to the United States 
        gross domestic product each year;
Whereas, unlike most energy sources, nuclear power plants have up to 2 years of 
        fuel stored securely on-site, which makes nuclear power plants hardened 
        against fuel-related supply disruptions;
Whereas a uranium pellet the size of a pencil eraser contains the same amount of 
        energy as 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas, 1,780 pounds of coal, or 149 
        gallons of oil;
Whereas global uranium supply is vastly available and the United States can 
        generate nuclear power at its current levels for more than a century 
        with just the natural uranium ore deposits that have already been 
        identified;
Whereas nuclear power plants offer a level of protection against natural and 
        adversarial threats that goes far beyond most other elements of the 
        electrical grid in the United States;
Whereas nuclear power plants' infrastructure and facilities are built to 
        withstand extreme weather, as proven during recent hurricanes and 
        freezing temperatures driven by polar vortex events;
Whereas the safe operation of nuclear energy in the United States has resulted 
        in no radiation-related deaths or long-term evacuation of surrounding 
        communities;
Whereas the utilization of conventional and advanced nuclear energy technologies 
        will significantly reduce energy costs, although the initial investment 
        burden of licensing and constructing any type of nuclear reactor will be 
        substantial;
Whereas the production of nuclear energy has become a much safer and more 
        efficient process with the development and commercialization of 
        innovative advanced nuclear reactors;
Whereas advanced nuclear reactors present uniquely innovative options for the 
        sustainable generation of clean energy in the United States and around 
        the world;
Whereas a typical 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in the United States 
        requires a little more than one square mile to operate, however an 
        advanced nuclear reactor requires about 3 times less land area compared 
        to a conventional nuclear power plant, depending on the reactor type and 
        the specific characteristics of the community;
Whereas the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulates 31 research and test 
        reactors;
Whereas approximately 98 universities in the United States offer a nuclear 
        engineering program and several universities have expressed interest in 
        advanced nuclear reactors as a power source for their campuses;
Whereas more than 45 companies and research organizations across the United 
        States have advanced nuclear energy projects underway;
Whereas many advanced nuclear reactors, in comparison to conventional nuclear 
        reactors, can operate at much higher temperatures without water, have 
        built-in safety features (such as automatic shutoff mechanisms), can 
        operate autonomously without disruption for several years at a time, and 
        have a naturally enhanced resistance to nuclear proliferation;
Whereas low-emission heat and steam from advanced nuclear reactors can supply 
        reliable, clean energy for hard-to-decarbonize sectors, such as the 
        industrial sector and chemical production sector;
Whereas the total amount of spent nuclear fuel that the United States nuclear 
        energy industry produced over the past 60 years could fit within the 
        bounds of a football field at a depth of less than 10 yards;
Whereas spent nuclear fuel can--

    (1) be safely stored in a deep geological repository;

    (2) be repurposed and recycled using innovative technology; and

    (3) potentially be safely stored underground using techniques such as 
deep borehole drilling;

Whereas certain advanced nuclear reactors have the capability to use spent 
        nuclear fuel from another nuclear reactor as a fuel source;
Whereas recycling spent nuclear fuel could significantly reduce the burden of 
        storing spent nuclear fuel, which would make the nuclear fuel cycle more 
        sustainable and further reduce the already-low carbon footprint of 
        nuclear energy;
Whereas 96 percent of spent nuclear fuel content is reusable energy, and 
        recycling spent nuclear fuel can cut the use of natural uranium 
        resources by 25 percent, reduce the volume of high-level waste slated 
        for disposal by 75 percent, and reduce the waste's toxicity by 
        approximately 90 percent;
Whereas, by 2050, energy produced by advanced nuclear reactors may account for a 
        significant amount of the clean energy generated in the United States, 
        with certain estimates predicting that up to 50 percent of total United 
        States electricity generation could come from conventional and advanced 
        nuclear energy sources;
Whereas the offsite component fabrication and modular manufacturing process for 
        advanced nuclear reactors will likely lead to cheaper and faster 
        installation, reduced regulatory burdens, and ultimately a streamlined 
        commercial deployment of advanced nuclear reactors;
Whereas advanced nuclear reactors offer seamless integration to complement other 
        renewables within microgrids, balancing out variations in generation 
        over time to reliably meet United States electricity demand;
Whereas, in the aftermath of a natural disaster when power outages persist, an 
        easily transportable advanced nuclear reactor could provide electricity 
        or heat for essential services, such as hospitals and water purification 
        facilities, instead of diesel generators, thereby producing a cleaner 
        and more efficient source of power that can last up to 20 years without 
        refueling;
Whereas nuclear medicine, including the use of medical radioactive isotopes, can 
        be used to diagnose and treat different diseases with pinpoint 
        precision, which will ultimately save American lives;
Whereas the Armed Forces have intentions to utilize advanced nuclear reactors at 
        United States military bases, both domestically and internationally, 
        because of advanced nuclear reactor's ability to generate clean 
        electricity consistently and reliably in locations that experience 
        severe weather patterns;
Whereas the Armed Forces are currently using diesel for generators in these 
        remote locations to provide electricity, such as in Alaska, which 
        require refueling approximately every 72 hours;
Whereas, since 1954, the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program has maintained and 
        operated more than 100 naval nuclear reactors, serviced and supplied by 
        thousands of American workers, to power United States aircraft carriers, 
        submarines, and other vessels;
Whereas advanced nuclear thermal and nuclear electric propulsion provides an 
        alternative clean energy source to power commercial ships to cut 
        emissions and remove the costly refueling infrastructure needs for 
        liquid-based energy carriers;
Whereas the advantages of using advanced nuclear thermal and nuclear electric 
        propulsion include long refueling intervals, faster transit speeds, 
        production of heat or cooling for cargo, faster turn-around times due to 
        elimination of refueling, reduced draft allowing increased cargo 
        capacity, eliminating the need to transport huge quantities of engine 
        fuel, and reducing the probability of environmental damage from fuel 
        leakages;
Whereas nuclear thermal propulsion and nuclear electric propulsion vehicles are 
        to be made at one-third to one-half the size of comparable chemical 
        propulsion vehicles, which would increase travel speeds and cut costs of 
        space missions;
Whereas the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and private companies 
        are creating technologies that use advanced nuclear radioisotopes to 
        channel heat into electricity, even in temperatures below -280 \o\F on 
        the lunar surface, for both manned and unmanned missions to Earth's 
        satellites, the Earth's Moon, Mars, and deep space;
Whereas nuclear energy may be used to desalinate highly salty waters and 
        industrial wastewater to ultimately produce multiuse potable water;
Whereas nuclear energy has the potential to cleanly power large-scale hydrogen 
        production facilities and utilize direct heat from the nuclear reactor 
        to assist with the hydrogen production process;
Whereas advanced nuclear reactors offer the possibility of a clean source of 
        energy to power energy intrusive mining operations that are typically 
        powered by diesel generators;
Whereas advanced nuclear reactors can produce clean, consistent, and reliable 
        energy to data centers which typically require large amounts of energy; 
        and
Whereas the future of cryptocurrency mining, which requires extensive energy 
        output, will greatly benefit from utilizing a noncarbon-emitting, 
        stable, and cost-competitive nuclear power source: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that, in order to meet the growing energy demands of the United States 
in a domestically favorable fashion and to promote American nuclear 
energy leadership while retaining the United States economic viability 
in the worldwide nuclear energy marketplace, it is necessary to expand 
the use of nuclear energy by--
            (1) embracing efforts to maintain the existing nuclear 
        fleet and promoting efforts that seek to utilize emerging 
        innovative nuclear energy technologies, such as advanced 
        nuclear reactors, to promote increased energy output, improve 
        public safety, more effectively reduce greenhouse gas 
        emissions, and alleviate the continuous challenge relating to 
        storing spent nuclear fuel;
            (2) recognizing nuclear energy as one of the cleanest power 
        sources in regard to greenhouse gas emissions, while 
        simultaneously understanding nuclear energy's capability of 
        being coupled with other clean energy sources, and stressing 
        the importance of nuclear energy being recognized on a level 
        regulatory playing field that is similar to other clean energy 
        generating sources;
            (3) supporting initiatives by the Department of Defense for 
        the deployment of nuclear reactors to enhance energy resiliency 
        and electricity assurance for critical missions, systems, and 
        assets in contested logistical environments where fuel supplies 
        are targeted or denied;
            (4) addressing critical domestic gaps in the procurement of 
        nuclear reactor construction material, resolving current 
        barriers and obstacles that relate to a domestic supply of 
        nuclear fuel, and other nuclear supply chain challenges;
            (5) encouraging sustainable domestic mining of uranium, in 
        addition to increasing uranium enrichment capabilities in the 
        United States to efficiently secure America's energy 
        independence and power United States nuclear reactors without 
        the need to rely on other countries;
            (6) actively increasing public awareness surrounding the 
        safety of nuclear energy and continuously combating false 
        information relating to nuclear power, including nuclear 
        energy's negative connotation in the United States which 
        originates from the only 3 nuclear accidents in the history of 
        the world, including the only event that took place in the 
        United States in March of 1979 at Three Mile Island Nuclear 
        Generating Station Facility, in which no deaths or medical 
        symptoms were directly tied to the nuclear incident;
            (7) streamlining the regulatory process, providing the 
        Nuclear Regulatory Commission the necessary resources to 
        effectuate positive change, and reducing the regulatory 
        barriers that currently derive from the Nuclear Regulatory 
        Commission's cautious and traditionalistic approach to the 
        licensing and constructing of new nuclear reactors, which such 
        regulatory approach is based on outdated technology standards 
        dating back over 50 years when the agency was first established 
        and solely focused on safely regulating conventional nuclear 
        reactors, to ultimately bolster innovation and encourage the 
        use of emerging technologies, such as advanced nuclear 
        reactors, to secure America's energy independence and allow for 
        the greater exercise of free enterprise, including 
        participation by America's small businesses that seek to get 
        involved in the nuclear industry, without reducing safety 
        precautions; and
            (8) promoting the use of new advanced nuclear technologies 
        within energy, water, medicine, manufacturing, space, digital 
        assets, and other public policy areas.
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