I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2938 To facilitate the development of a whole-of-government strategy for nuclear cooperation and nuclear exports. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 27, 2023 Mr. DONALDS (for himself and Mr. CLYBURN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Science, Space, and Tech- nology, and Ways and Means, 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 facilitate the development of a whole-of-government strategy for nuclear cooperation and nuclear exports. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Nuclear 4 Energy Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2938.IH H2938 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2938 IH (1) ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR.—The term 1 ‘‘advanced nuclear reactor’’ means— 2 (A) a nuclear fission reactor, including a 3 prototype plant (as defined in sections 50.2 and 4 52.1 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations 5 (or successor regulations)), with significant im- 6 provements compared to reactors operating on 7 October 19, 2016, including improvements such 8 as— 9 (i) additional inherent safety features; 10 (ii) lower waste yields; 11 (iii) improved fuel and material per- 12 formance; 13 (iv) increased tolerance to loss of fuel 14 cooling; 15 (v) enhanced reliability or improved 16 resilience; 17 (vi) increased proliferation resistance; 18 (vii) increased thermal efficiency; 19 (viii) reduced consumption of cooling 20 water and other environmental impacts; 21 (ix) the ability to integrate into elec- 22 tric applications and nonelectric applica- 23 tions; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2938.IH H2938 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2938 IH (x) modular sizes to allow for deploy- 1 ment that corresponds with the demand 2 for electricity or process heat; and 3 (xi) operational flexibility to respond 4 to changes in demand for electricity or 5 process heat and to complement integra- 6 tion with intermittent renewable energy or 7 energy storage; 8 (B) a fusion reactor; and 9 (C) a radioisotope power system that uti- 10 lizes heat from radioactive decay to generate 11 energy. 12 (2) ALLY OR PARTNER NATION.—The term 13 ‘‘ally or partner nation’’ means— 14 (A) the Government of any country that is 15 a member of the Organisation for Economic Co- 16 operation and Development; 17 (B) the Government of the Republic of 18 India; and 19 (C) the Government of any country des- 20 ignated as an ally or partner nation by the Sec- 21 retary of State for purposes of this Act. 22 (3) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 23 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 24 gress’’ means— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2938.IH H2938 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2938 IH (A) the Committees on Foreign Relations 1 and Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen- 2 ate; and 3 (B) the Committees on Foreign Affairs 4 and Energy and Commerce of the House of 5 Representatives. 6 (4) ASSISTANT.—The term ‘‘Assistant’’ means 7 the Assistant to the President and Director for 8 International Nuclear Energy Policy described in 9 section 3(a)(1)(D). 10 (5) ASSOCIATED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘associ- 11 ated entity’’ means an entity that— 12 (A) is owned, controlled, or operated by— 13 (i) an ally or partner nation; or 14 (ii) an associated individual; or 15 (B) is organized under the laws of, or oth- 16 erwise subject to the jurisdiction of, a country 17 described in paragraph (2), including a corpora- 18 tion that is incorporated in a country described 19 in that paragraph. 20 (6) ASSOCIATED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘asso- 21 ciated individual’’ means a foreign national who is a 22 national of a country described in paragraph (2). 23 (7) CIVIL NUCLEAR.—The term ‘‘civil nuclear’’ 24 means activities relating to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2938.IH H2938 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2938 IH (A) nuclear plant construction; 1 (B) nuclear fuel services; 2 (C) nuclear energy financing; 3 (D) nuclear plant operations; 4 (E) nuclear plant regulation; 5 (F) nuclear medicine; 6 (G) nuclear safety; 7 (H) community engagement in areas in 8 reasonable proximity to nuclear sites; 9 (I) infrastructure support for nuclear en- 10 ergy; 11 (J) nuclear plant decommissioning; 12 (K) nuclear liability; 13 (L) safe storage and safe disposal of spent 14 nuclear fuel; 15 (M) environmental safeguards; 16 (N) nuclear nonproliferation and security; 17 and 18 (O) technology related to the matters de- 19 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (N). 20 (8) EMBARKING CIVIL NUCLEAR NATION.— 21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘embarking 22 civil nuclear nation’’ means a country that— 23 (i) does not have a civil nuclear en- 24 ergy program; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2938.IH H2938 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2938 IH (ii) is in the process of developing or 1 expanding a civil nuclear energy program, 2 including safeguards and a legal and regu- 3 latory framework, for— 4 (I) nuclear safety; 5 (II) nuclear security; 6 (III) radioactive waste manage- 7 ment; 8 (IV) civil nuclear energy; 9 (V) environmental safeguards; 10 (VI) community engagement in 11 areas in reasonable proximity to nu- 12 clear sites; 13 (VII) nuclear liability; or 14 (VIII) advanced nuclear reactor 15 licensing; 16 (iii) is in the process of selecting, de- 17 veloping, constructing, or utilizing ad- 18 vanced light water reactors, advanced nu- 19 clear reactors, or advanced civil nuclear 20 technologies; or 21 (iv) had an annual per capita gross 22 domestic product of not more than 23 $28,000 in 2020. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2938.IH H2938 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2938 IH (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘embarking 1 civil nuclear nation’’ does not include— 2 (i) the People’s Republic of China; 3 (ii) the Russian Federation; 4 (iii) the Republic of Belarus; 5 (iv) the Islamic Republic of Iran; 6 (v) the Democratic People’s Republic 7 of Korea; 8 (vi) the Republic of Cuba; 9 (vii) the Bolivarian Republic of Ven- 10 ezuela; 11 (viii) the Syrian Arab Republic; 12 (ix) Burma; or 13 (x) any other country— 14 (I) the property or interests in 15 property of the government of which 16 are blocked pursuant to the Inter- 17 national Emergency Economic Powers 18 Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); or 19 (II) the government of which the 20 Secretary of State has determined has 21 repeatedly provided support for acts 22 of international terrorism for purposes 23 of— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2938.IH H2938 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2938 IH (aa) section 620A(a) of the 1 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 2 (22 U.S.C. 2371(a)); 3 (bb) section 40(d) of the 4 Arms Export Control Act (22 5 U.S.C. 2780(d)); 6 (cc) section 1754(c)(1)(A)(i) 7 of the Export Control Reform 8 Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 9 4813(c)(1)(A)(i)); or 10 (dd) any other relevant pro- 11 vision of law. 12 (9) NUCLEAR SAFETY.—The term ‘‘nuclear 13 safety’’ means issues relating to the design, con- 14 struction, operation, or decommissioning of nuclear 15 facilities in a manner that provides reasonable assur- 16 ance of adequate protection for workers, the public, 17 and the environment, including— 18 (A) the safe operation of nuclear reactors 19 and other nuclear facilities; 20 (B) radiological protection of— 21 (i) members of the public; 22 (ii) workers; and 23 (iii) the environment; 24 (C) nuclear waste management; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2938.IH H2938 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2938 IH (D) emergency preparedness; 1 (E) nuclear liability; and 2 (F) the safe transportation of nuclear ma- 3 terials. 4 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 5 means the Secretary of Energy. 6 (11) SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL.—The term ‘‘spent 7 nuclear fuel’’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 8 tion 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 9 U.S.C. 10101). 10 (12) U.S. NUCLEAR ENERGY COMPANY.—The 11 term ‘‘U.S. nuclear energy company’’ means a com- 12 pany that— 13 (A) is organized under the laws of, or oth- 14 erwise subject to the jurisdiction of, the United 15 States; and 16 (B) is involved in the nuclear energy indus- 17 try. 18 SEC. 3. CIVIL NUCLEAR COORDINATION AND STRATEGY. 19 (a) WHITE HOUSE FOCAL POINT ON CIVIL NUCLEAR 20 COORDINATION.— 21 (1) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—Given the critical 22 importance of developing and implementing, with 23 input from various agencies throughout the executive 24 branch, a cohesive policy with respect to inter- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2938.IH H2938 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2938 IH national efforts related to civil nuclear energy, it is 1 the sense of Congress that— 2 (A) there should be a focal point within the 3 White House, which may, if determined to be 4 appropriate, report to the National Security 5 Council, for coordination on issues relating to 6 those efforts; 7 (B) to provide that focal point, the Presi- 8 dent should establish, within the Executive Of- 9 fice of the President, an office, to be known as 10 the ‘‘Office of the Assistant to the President 11 and Director for International Nuclear Energy 12 Policy’’ (referred to in this subsection as the 13 ‘‘Office’’); 14 (C) the Office should act as a coordinating 15 office for— 16 (i) international civil nuclear coopera- 17 tion; and 18 (ii) civil nuclear export strategy; 19 (D) the Office should be headed by an in- 20 dividual appointed as an Assistant to the Presi- 21 dent with the title of ‘‘Director for Inter- 22 national Nuclear Energy Policy’’; and 23 (E) the Office should— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2938.IH H2938 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2938 IH (i) coordinate civil nuclear export poli- 1 cies for the United States; 2 (ii) develop, in coordination with the 3 officials described in paragraph (2), a co- 4 hesive Federal strategy for engagement 5 with foreign governments (including ally or 6 partner nations and the governments of 7 embarking civil nuclear nations), associ- 8 ated entities, and associated individuals 9 with respect to civil nuclear exports; 10 (iii) coordinate with the officials de- 11 scribed in paragraph (2) to ensure that 12 necessary framework agreements and trade 13 controls relating to civil nuclear materials 14 and technologies are in place for key mar- 15 kets; and 16 (iv) develop— 17 (I) a whole-of-government coordi- 18 nating strategy for civil nuclear co- 19 operation; 20 (II) a whole-of-government strat- 21 egy for civil nuclear exports; and 22 (III) a whole-of-government ap- 23 proach to support appropriate foreign 24 investment in civil nuclear energy 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2938.IH H2938 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2938 IH projects supported by the United 1 States in embarking civil nuclear na- 2 tions. 3 (2) OFFICIALS DESCRIBED.—The officials re- 4 ferred to in paragraph (1)(E) are— 5 (A) the appropriate officials of— 6 (i) the Department of State; 7 (ii) the Department of Energy; 8 (iii) the Department of Commerce; 9 (iv) the Department of Transpor- 10 tation; 11 (v) the Nuclear Regulatory Commis- 12 sion; 13 (vi) the Department of Defense; 14 (vii) the National Security Council; 15 (viii) the National Economic Council; 16 (ix) the Office of the United States 17 Trade Representative; 18 (x) the Office of Management and 19 Budget; 20 (xi) the Office of the Director of Na- 21 tional Intelligence; 22 (xii) the Export-Import Bank of the 23 United States; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2938.IH H2938 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2938 IH (xiii) the United States International 1 Development Finance Corporation; 2 (xiv) the United States Agency for 3 International Development; 4 (xv) the United States Trade and De- 5 velopment Agency; 6 (xvi) the Office of Science and Tech- 7 nology Policy; and 8 (xvii) any other Federal agency that 9 the President determines to be appro- 10 priate; and 11 (B) appropriate officials representing for- 12 eign countries and governments, including— 13 (i) ally or partner nations; 14 (ii) embarking civil nuclear nations; 15 and 16 (iii) any other country or government 17 that the Assistant (if appointed) and the 18 officials described in subparagraph (A) 19 jointly determine to be appropriate. 20 (b) NUCLEAR EXPORTS WORKING GROUP.— 21 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 22 working group, to be known as the ‘‘Nuclear Ex- 23 ports Working Group’’ (referred to in this subsection 24 as the ‘‘working group’’). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2938.IH H2938 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 14 •HR 2938 IH (2) COMPOSITION.—The working group shall be 1 composed of— 2 (A) senior-level Federal officials, selected 3 internally by the applicable Federal agency or 4 organization, from— 5 (i) the Department of State; 6 (ii) the Department of Commerce; 7 (iii) the Department of Energy; 8 (iv) the Department of the Treasury; 9 (v) the Export-Import Bank of the 10 United States; 11 (vi) the United States International 12 Development Finance Corporation; 13 (vii) the Nuclear Regulatory Commis- 14 sion; 15 (viii) the Office of the United States 16 Trade Representative; and 17 (ix) the United States Trade and De- 18 velopment Agency; and 19 (B) other senior-level Federal officials, se- 20 lected internally by the applicable Federal agen- 21 cy or organization, from any other Federal 22 agency or organization that the Secretary deter- 23 mines to be appropriate. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 [Text truncated for display. 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