To establish the American Nuclear Leadership Commission, and for other purposes.

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 9028 To establish the American Nuclear Leadership Commission, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 18, 2020 Mr. BURGESS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Science, Space, and Technology, 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 con- cerned A BILL To establish the American Nuclear Leadership Commission, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. AMERICAN NUCLEAR LEADERSHIP COMMIS- 3 SION. 4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com- 5 mission within the Department of Energy to be known as 6 the ‘‘American Nuclear Leadership Commission’’ (in this 7 Act referred to as ‘‘the Commission’’). 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jan 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9028.IH H9028 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 9028 IH (b) DUTIES.— 1 (1) STUDY.—The Commission shall conduct a 2 study of the current status and the future of the ci- 3 vilian nuclear power industry of the United States, 4 including examination of— 5 (A) the process by which nuclear reactors 6 are developed, constructed, and operated for ci- 7 vilian commercial purposes within the United 8 States, including the process for— 9 (i) nuclear reactors currently in oper- 10 ation; and 11 (ii) advanced reactor designs; 12 (B) potential market opportunities for ad- 13 vanced reactors domestically and internation- 14 ally; 15 (C) the challenges posed to the United 16 States domestic nuclear fuels lifecycle on the 17 ‘‘front end’’ (mining, milling, and reprocessing) 18 and on the ‘‘back end’’ (storage of spent nu- 19 clear fuel); 20 (D) the current industrial capacity of the 21 United States for the design and manufacture 22 of nuclear reactors; 23 (E) the export competitiveness of the 24 United States for nuclear reactors designed and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jan 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9028.IH H9028 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 9028 IH built in the United States in comparison to the 1 export competitiveness of other countries for 2 nuclear reactors designed and built in such 3 countries; 4 (F) whether the use of advanced reactor 5 designs can mitigate the economic challenges 6 posed by high construction costs, low energy 7 prices, and limited sources of capital; 8 (G) the environmental impacts of civilian 9 nuclear power, specifically on the air and water 10 emissions of pollutants, including carbon diox- 11 ide, across the lifecycle of a civilian nuclear 12 power plant; and 13 (H) existing regulations and statutes that 14 may limit the expanded use of new nuclear re- 15 actors for civilian power generation within the 16 United States and exports abroad. 17 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 18 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 19 prepare and submit to Congress and the President 20 a report on the study under paragraph (1) that in- 21 cludes a detailed statement of the finding and con- 22 clusions of the Commission, together with its rec- 23 ommendations, including any recommendations for 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jan 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9028.IH H9028 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 9028 IH legislation or administrative acts, that the Commis- 1 sion considers appropriate. 2 (3) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND COMMENT.—In con- 3 ducting the study under paragraph (1) and pre- 4 paring the report under paragraph (2), the Commis- 5 sion shall solicit public comment and hold public 6 meetings with stakeholder groups. 7 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 8 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.— 9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 10 be composed of 10 members, as follows: 11 (i) The Secretary of Energy (or the 12 Secretary’s delegate). 13 (ii) Nine members shall be appointed 14 by the President of the United States, 15 after consideration of recommendations 16 from the Speaker of the House of Rep- 17 resentatives, the majority leader of the 18 Senate, the minority leader of the House of 19 Representatives, and the minority leader of 20 the Senate. 21 (B) APPOINTMENT.—Appointments of 22 members to the Commission shall be made not 23 later than 60 days after the date of the enact- 24 ment of this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jan 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9028.IH H9028 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 9028 IH (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the Com- 1 mission shall include individuals who— 2 (A) represent the interests of— 3 (i) the civilian nuclear power sector of 4 the United States; 5 (ii) nuclear reactor design and manu- 6 facturing companies; 7 (iii) the nuclear fuels industry; 8 (iv) electric grid operators, such as 9 electric utilities; 10 (v) Federal and State policy makers; 11 (vi) energy sector financing experts; 12 and 13 (vii) nuclear nonproliferation experts; 14 and 15 (B) have demonstrated experience and un- 16 derstanding of the civilian nuclear power sector, 17 nuclear engineering or physics, civilian nuclear 18 energy project financing, or State or Federal 19 regulations that impact the development of new 20 civilian nuclear power projects. 21 (3) PARTISANSHIP.—Not more than 5 members 22 of the Commission may be members of the same po- 23 litical party. 24 (4) TERMS AND VACANCIES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jan 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9028.IH H9028 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 9028 IH (A) TERMS.—Each member shall be ap- 1 pointed for the life of the Commission. 2 (B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Com- 3 mission shall be filled in the same manner as 4 the original appointment, except the individual 5 appointed to fill the vacancy shall serve only for 6 the unexpired portion of the term for which the 7 individual’s predecessor was appointed. 8 (d) RULES AND PROCEDURES.— 9 (1) SELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON.—The Sec- 10 retary of Energy (or the Secretary’s delegate) shall 11 serve as Chairperson of the Commission. 12 (2) QUORUM REQUIREMENTS.—To meet a 13 quorum, at least 6 members of the Commission, in- 14 cluding the Chairperson, need to be present either in 15 person or via video conferencing. 16 (3) FORMULATING OTHER RULES OF PROCE- 17 DURE.—The Commission shall set its own rules of 18 procedure for announcements, meetings, and report- 19 ing to Congress and the President. 20 (e) MEETINGS.— 21 (1) FIRST MEETING.—The Commission shall 22 hold its first meeting not later than 30 days after 23 all members have been appointed to the Commission. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jan 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9028.IH H9028 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 9028 IH (2) SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS.—The Commission 1 shall hold meetings on a quarterly basis throughout 2 the life of the Commission. 3 (f) COSTS AND FUNDING.—Funding for the Commis- 4 sion shall be derived from the Department of Energy’s an- 5 nual appropriated funds. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jan 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H9028.IH H9028 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS