Strengthening American Nuclear Competitiveness Act

Bill: 117-hr-1748
Sponsor: Rep. Johnson, Bill [R-OH-6]
Introduced: 2021-03-10 in the House
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Advanced technology and technological innovations
Alliances
Arms control and nonproliferation
Asia
Building construction
Canada
Civil actions and liability
Competitiveness, trade promotion, trade deficits
Congressional oversight
Corporate finance and management
Electric power generation and transmission
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Europe
Foreign and international corporations
France
Germany
Government studies and investigations
International scientific cooperation
Italy
Japan
Licensing and registrations
Life, casualty, property insurance
Lighting, heating, cooling
Manufacturing
North America
Nuclear power
South Korea
Technology transfer and commercialization
Trade restrictions
United Kingdom

Summary:
action_date: 2021-03-10
text: 

Strengthening American Nuclear Competitiveness Act

 
This bill requires expedited consideration of certain nuclear technology exports, and it requires the Department of Energy (DOE), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to author specified reports.
 
Specifically, DOE must expedite consideration of authorization requests regarding the transfer of technology that involves specified low-proliferation-risk reactors to certain foreign countries. The bill also lifts the prohibition on licensing domestic nuclear projects in which U.S. allies invest if license issuance is not detrimental to common defense and security or the health and safety of the public.
 
DOE must report on U.S. civilian nuclear commerce, including (1) an assessment of practices with respect to the civilian nuclear industry and the impacts of such practices on the industry in domestic and foreign commerce, (2) a comparison of U.S. practices to the practices of foreign countries with respect to their own civilian nuclear industry, and (3) recommendations to improve the competitiveness of U.S. civilian nuclear commerce.
 
The NRC must report on (1) licensing issues or requirements relating to the use of nuclear energy for nonelectric applications, and (2) advanced manufacturing and construction techniques for nuclear energy projects. 
 
The GAO must report on actions by DOE regarding the retrospective risk pooling program that requires nuclear suppliers to help cover the contingent cost of certain nuclear incidents.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-03-11
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy.
action_date: 2021-03-10
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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.
action_date: 2021-03-10
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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.
action_date: 2021-03-10
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2021-03-10
text: Introduced in House