How to watch the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy

Nuclear Spent Fuel Policy: Examining Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses

Second panel convening and stakeholder opening statements

The second panel of regulators, industry, and host‑community representatives is introduced and delivers statements emphasizing federal failure to meet disposal obligations, protection and budget reform of the $51+ billion Nuclear Waste Fund, the need for geologic repositories and consolidated storage before fee restarts, tailored campus legislation prioritizing shutdown sites, and possible creation of an independent waste‑management entity.

In this chapter

1. Second panel convened: regulators, industry, and host communities
2. Second panel openings: fund protection, disposal first, new organization

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Nuclear Spent Fuel Policy: Examining Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses

Member Q&A with DOE: economics, supply security, oversight, and the Fund

Gary Palmer Republican

Questions shift to the commercial viability and legal clarity for reprocessing, protection of ratepayers, domestic uranium and enrichment security, the future of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, permissible uses of the Nuclear Waste Fund including loans and flexibility, and how nuclear‑experienced states like Tennessee and South Carolina will be treated within or outside the campus host group.

In this chapter

1. Rep. Palmer (AL): recycling, uranium security, and supply riskGary Palmer
2. Rep. McClellan (VA): Technical Review Board and Nuclear Waste Fund use
3. Rep. Harshbarger (TN): Tennessee’s role and host‑state certainty

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Nuclear Spent Fuel Policy: Examining Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses

Member Q&A with DOE: consent, siting, transport, lifecycle

Robert Menendez and 4 others

Members probe DOE on how community and state consent will be secured and made durable post‑Yucca, how campus siting and rulemaking will prioritize shutdown reactors and non‑campus states, the safety and logistics of waste transport, integration of defense waste like Hanford, and what long‑term success in 10–20 years would look like under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act framework.

In this chapter

1. Rep. Menendez: community consent and NRC independenceRobert Menendez
2. Rep. Armstrong (ND): state benefits, transport, and recycling limitsMarc Veasey
3. Rep. Veasey (TX): health standards and siting under NWPA

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Nuclear Spent Fuel Policy: Examining Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses

DOE campus strategy and initial committee questioning

Kathy Castor and 2 others

Assistant Secretary Garish outlines DOE’s vision for nuclear innovation campuses, expanded enrichment and reprocessing, alternative disposal technologies, and requested statutory changes, followed by early member questions on SMRs, recycling potential, state MOUs, Yucca exclusivity, private recyclers, consent durability, and prioritizing shipments from shutdown plants and high‑risk sites.

In this chapter

1. Assistant Secretary Garish: nuclear resurgence and campus concept
2. Chair Latta Q&A: SMRs, recycling, and fuel independence
3. Ranking Member Castor Q&A: MOUs, authority, and transparencyKathy Castor

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Nuclear Spent Fuel Policy: Examining Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses

Hearing opening and committee leadership positions

Kathy Castor and 2 others

The chair and ranking members open the hearing, frame DOE’s proposed nuclear innovation campuses against longstanding federal obligations under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act and Yucca Mountain, highlight concerns over safety, staff losses, transparency, and costs, and set out contrasting majority and minority views on reprocessing, NRC independence, and overall spent fuel strategy.

In this chapter

1. Chair: hearing opens and scope
2. Ranking Member Castor: nuclear waste and energy affordabilityKathy Castor
3. Full Committee Chair Guthrie: Yucca support and alternativesBrett Guthrie
4. Ranking Member Pallone: trust, NRC independence, reprocessing risksFrank Pallone

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Subcommittee Markup of Six Pieces of Legislation

HR 9613 Nuclear Advisory Committee Reform Act: ACRS scope and independence

The sponsor and members debate refocusing ACRS on novel, safety-significant issues versus preserving its ability to self-initiate reviews, with proponents stressing efficiency and opponents citing recent Supreme Court and case examples before the subcommittee advances the bill.

In this chapter

1. HR 9613 Nuclear Advisory Committee Reform Act: sponsor’s rationale
2. HR 9613: ranking member and Texas member on ACRS scope
3. HR 9613: New York member’s safety objections and passage

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Subcommittee Markup of Six Pieces of Legislation

HR 9612 and HR 5549: enrichment and licensing hearing reforms

Sponsors and supporters argue for aligning enrichment facility licensing with other fuel cycle facilities to reduce dependence on Russian supply and for eliminating uncontested NRC hearings to save resources while preserving contested hearing rights and safety standards.

In this chapter

1. HR 9612 American Enrichment Deployment Act: domestic fuel capacity
2. HR 5549 Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act: eliminating uncontested hearings

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Subcommittee Markup of Six Pieces of Legislation

HR 3978 REFUEL Act: spent fuel recycling and waste policy

Members debate authorizing licensing for spent fuel recycling facilities, linking it to local waste concerns, the broader federal waste disposal gap, and an amendment clarifying NRC authority on plutonium isolation and export controls before approving the bill as amended.

In this chapter

1. HR 3978 REFUEL Act: proponent from California on nuclear waste
2. HR 3978 REFUEL Act: chair’s support and licensing framework change
3. HR 3978 REFUEL Act: Democratic waste concerns and amendment adoption

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Subcommittee Markup of Six Pieces of Legislation

Opening statements: nuclear agenda and NRC framework

Chairs and ranking members set the markup agenda for six nuclear bills, outline the need to modernize NRC licensing and DOE transparency, and frame bipartisan but conditional support around safety, independence, and competition with China.

In this chapter

1. Chair: opens markup and nuclear policy context
2. Chair: outlines six nuclear bills under consideration
3. Subcommittee ranking member: energy costs and nuclear role

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Subcommittee Markup of Eight Pieces of Legislation

Transmission technologies, data center costs, and interconnection reform

The subcommittee considers H.R. 9335, H.R. 9340, H.R. 6633, H.R. 6529, and H.R. 2986, debating NEPA exemptions, advanced conductors, large‑load cost allocation for AI and crypto data centers, FERC technical conferences on ratepayer protections, and stricter timelines and best practices for generator interconnection queues.

In this chapter

1. H.R. 9335 Advanced Transmission to Reduce Rates Act: ATTs and NEPA exemption debate
2. H.R. 9340 Ratepayer Protection Act: large-load tariffs and cost allocation principles
3. H.R. 9340 Ratepayer Protection Act: member perspectives and regional stakes

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Subcommittee Markup of Eight Pieces of Legislation

Load forecasting and AI for grid operations

Members advance H.R. 9332 and H.R. 9339 to strengthen regional load forecasting and direct DOE, FERC, and NERC to assess how AI and high‑performance computing can accelerate interconnection studies, predictive maintenance, and overall grid efficiency, with attention to small and public power utilities.

In this chapter

1. H.R. 9332 Load Forecasting Enhancement Act: bipartisan support and DOE role
2. H.R. 9339 Affordable Innovation for the Grid Act: AI and HPC for grid efficiency

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Subcommittee Markup of Eight Pieces of Legislation

Opening of markup: agenda, reliability and affordability

Brett Guthrie Republican

The chair and ranking members frame a reliability and affordability crisis, outline the eight energy and pipeline safety bills on the agenda, and emphasize regional flexibility, bipartisan work, and concerns about AI, data centers, and grid modernization.

In this chapter

1. Opening of markup: agenda and eight energy bills
2. Subcommittee and full-committee ranking members: affordability, AI, and grid modernizationBrett Guthrie
3. Full committee chair: regional approaches and best-practice frameworksBrett Guthrie

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Nuclear Permitting Reform: Legislation to Advance Efficient Licensing

Q&A: Enrichment, waste strategy, hearings reform, and competitiveness

Russell Fry and 3 others

Later questioning addresses at‑risk enrichment construction and ratepayer protections, maintaining NRC and ACRS credibility while modernizing review requirements, lessons from failed and successful projects for cost and financeability, tools for new nuclear states, completing the fuel cycle through enrichment and recycling, and how eliminating uncontested hearings, expediting restarts, and deploying SMRs under a respected regulator enhance US competitiveness against Russian and Chinese nuclear exports.

In this chapter

1. Rep. Hoyle (OR): at-risk enrichment construction and early-mover risk
2. Rep. Crenshaw (TX): NRC credibility, ACRS discretion, and paused grants
3. Rep. Fry (SC): project costs, ratepayers, and ACRS modernizationRussell Fry

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Nuclear Permitting Reform: Legislation to Advance Efficient Licensing

Q&A: Implementing ADVANCE Act, workforce, and fuel cycle

Members focus on how NRC is implementing ADVANCE Act licensing reforms, NRC’s capacity to oversee advanced and fusion technologies, export‑control implications of reprocessing, workforce and scholarship pipelines, HALEU supply and enrichment investments, the limits of recycling versus the need for a waste program, the security value of accelerated enrichment licensing, and how NRC staffing and grants affect nuclear talent and public service.

In this chapter

1. Rep. Carter (GA): implementing the ADVANCE Act licensing reforms
2. Rep. McClellan (VA): reactor safety, fusion, exports, and NRC grants
3. Rep. Johnson (OH): HALEU supply, enrichment, and advanced deployment

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Nuclear Permitting Reform: Legislation to Advance Efficient Licensing

Q&A: NRC transparency, ACRS scope, and institutional independence

Brett Guthrie Republican

Members question witnesses on fuel security, the REFUEL Act, concentrating ACRS on novel risks, DOE safety transparency, staff and grant reductions, coal‑to‑nuclear siting, and the separation of DOE’s promotional role from NRC’s regulatory mission, while probing how streamlining licensing and eliminating mandatory hearings can preserve public participation and global safety leadership amid concerns over Trump‑era pressure on NRC independence.

In this chapter

1. Chair Latta Q&A: fuel security, REFUEL Act, ACRS focus, and hearings
2. Ranking Member Castor Q&A: DOE safety transparency and ACRS safeguards
3. Vice Chair from Texas Q&A: ACRS reform, licensing risk, and NRC pay

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Nuclear Permitting Reform: Legislation to Advance Efficient Licensing

Witness opening statements: nuclear deployment and regulation

Industry, policy, and academic witnesses describe the current advanced nuclear project pipeline, identify six main Congressional priorities for deployment, assess recent NRC performance and Part 53, and state positions on the drafted legislation covering uncontested hearings, REFUEL, enrichment, ACRS refocusing, DOE transparency, and NRC pay flexibility.

In this chapter

1. Witness Korsnick (NEI): six priorities for nuclear deployment
2. Witness Harrell (ClearPath): project pipeline and targeted reforms
3. Witness Huff: innovation, public confidence, and workforce pipeline
4. Witness Merrifield: reassessing NRC performance and supporting bills

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Nuclear Permitting Reform: Legislation to Advance Efficient Licensing

Hearing opening: legislative agenda and procedures

Brett Guthrie Republican

Subcommittee and full committee leaders open the hearing, outline bipartisan nuclear licensing and fuel‑cycle bills, debate past Trump‑era interference with NRC and DOE, stress the importance of safety, transparency, and ACRS independence, welcome a UK delegation, and set out witness introductions and procedural rules.

In this chapter

1. Chair Latta: hearing opening and bills overview
2. Ranking Member Castor: safety, DOE transparency, and Trump-era concerns
3. Full Committee Chair Rogers: ADVANCE Act progress and permitting goalsBrett Guthrie

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