NO RUSSIA Act of 2022

Bill: 117-s-3978
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Barrasso, John [R-WY]
Introduced: 2022-03-31
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Asia

China

Energy storage, supplies, demand

Europe

Foreign and international corporations

Mining

Nuclear power

Russia

Strategic materials and reserves
Latest action: action_date: 2022-12-01
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.

Summaries:
action_date: 2022-03-31
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>National Opportunity to Restore Uranium Supply Services In America Act of 2022 or the NO RUSSIA Act of 2022</b></p> <p>This bill provides statutory authority (and reallocates funding) for the Office of Nuclear Energy to establish a strategic reserve of uranium to ensure the availability of domestic supplies of uranium. The bill also requires the office to establish another program to support domestic production, conversion, and enrichment of uranium for nuclear reactors and eliminate reliance on Russian uranium.</p> <p>The office may not source uranium for the reserve or the program from companies that are controlled by, owned by, or otherwise affiliated with China or Russia.</p>

tv_txt: II 117th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3978 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 31, 2022 Mr. Barrasso (for himself, Ms. Lummis , Mr. Cramer , and Mr. Marshall ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To require the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program to operate a uranium reserve consisting of uranium produced and converted in the United States and a program to ensure the availability of uranium produced, converted, and enriched in the United States, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the National Opportunity to Restore Uranium Supply Services In America Act of 2022 or the NO RUSSIA Act of 2022 . 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Department The term Department means the Department of Energy. (2) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy. (3) Uranium Reserve The term Uranium Reserve means the national strategic uranium reserve operated pursuant to the program described in section 3(a). 3. National Strategic Uranium Reserve (a) Program On enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall immediately begin executing, with the amounts reallocated under subsection (f)(1), a program to operate a national strategic uranium reserve to ensure the availability of uranium produced and converted in the United States in accordance with this section. (b) Purposes The purposes of the Uranium Reserve are— (1) to ensure the availability of domestically produced and converted uranium in the event of a supply disruption; (2) to address domestic nuclear fuel supply chain gaps and deficiencies in uranium production and conversion; and (3) to support strategic nuclear fuel supply chain capabilities in the United States. (c) Activities In operating the Uranium Reserve, the Secretary shall— (1) operate the Uranium Reserve in a manner consistent with the recommendations in the document entitled Restoring America's Competitive Nuclear Energy Advantage: A Strategy to Assure U.S. National Security , released by the United States Nuclear Fuel Working Group in 2020; (2) acquire uranium produced and converted in the United States that is sufficient to sustain the continued operation of nuclear reactors in the United States in the event of a supply disruption; (3) make uranium available as needed, in a manner consistent with the cost recovery requirements described in subsection (d); and (4) replenish, in a manner consistent with the requirements of this section, uranium made available by the Department. (d) Cost recovery (1) In general In carrying out activities under this section, the Secretary shall ensure that any uranium acquired, provided, or made available through the Uranium Reserve is subject to cost recovery based on the fair market value of the subject uranium. (2) Availability of certain funds Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31, United States Code, revenues received from the sale or transfer of uranium and other activities related to making uranium available pursuant to this section— (A) shall be available to the Department for carrying out the purposes of this section, to reduce the need for further appropriations for those purposes; and (B) shall remain available until expended. (e) Exclusion The Secretary shall exclude from the Uranium Reserve uranium from an entity that— (1) is owned or controlled by the Government of the Russian Federation or the Government of the People’s Republic of China; or (2) is organized under the laws of, or otherwise subject to the jurisdiction of, the Russian Federation or the People’s Republic of China. (f) Funding (1) Reallocation (A) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the amounts described in subparagraph (B) shall be reallocated to the Office of Nuclear Energy of the Department for the purpose of executing the program described in subsection (a) by— (i) continuing the activities initiated by the Department, including the National Nuclear Security Administration, using amounts made available for the Uranium Reserve Program pursuant to the proviso referred to in that subparagraph; (ii) carrying out other activities consistent with the purposes for which the amounts described in clause (i) were originally made available; and (iii) carrying out activities in accordance with this section. (B) Amounts described The amounts referred to in subparagraph (A) are the amounts that remain available as of the date of enactment of this Act from the $75,000,000 made available for the Uranium Reserve Program pursuant to the first proviso under the heading weapons activities under the heading National Nuclear Security Administration under the heading atomic energy defense activities in title III of division D of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( Public Law 116–260 ; 134 Stat. 1369). (C) Clarification Subparagraph (A) does not affect any amounts made available to the Department, including the National Nuclear Security Administration, that are not described in the proviso referred to in subparagraph (B) as available for the Uranium Reserve Program. (2) Authorization of Appropriations In addition to amounts otherwise made available, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2032. 4. Domestic uranium availability (a) Establishment Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a program (referred to in this section as the program ) to ensure the availability of uranium produced, converted, and enriched in the United States. (b) Purposes The purposes of the program shall be— (1) to eliminate reliance on Russian uranium; (2) to address domestic nuclear fuel supply chain gaps and deficiencies; and (3) to ensure the availability of domestically produced, converted, and enriched uranium to support the continued operation of nuclear reactors in the United States. (c) Considerations In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall consider, and, as appropriate, execute options— (1) to establish, through a competitive process, new and, as appropriate, diverse domestic uranium mining, conversion, and enrichment capacity that is needed to replace uranium imported from Russia; (2) to activate and expand the American Assured Fuel Supply to meet domestic and international nuclear fuel supply needs; (3) to restock the American Assured Fuel Supply, including by utilizing, or merging with, the Uranium Reserve; (4) that do not disrupt or replace market mechanisms; and (5) that ensure the use of domestic uranium utilized as a result of the program does not negatively impact the economic operation of nuclear reactors in the United States. (d) Exclusion The Secretary shall exclude from the program uranium from an entity that— (1) is owned or controlled by the Government of the Russian Federation or the Government of the People’s Republic of China; or (2) is organized under the laws of, or otherwise subject to the jurisdiction of, the Russian Federation or the People’s Republic of China. (e) Authorization of appropriations In addition to amounts otherwise made available, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as are necessary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2032.