Energy subcommittee discusses nuclear reform bills, draft legislation

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Energy turned its attention to nuclear permitting reform at a June 9 hearing-looking at a total of six proposals.

During the three-hour hearing, lawmakers and subject matter experts discussed three bills and another three drafts that address fuel recycling, Nuclear Regulatory Commission mandatory hearings, Department of Energy transparency, domestic uranium enrichment, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS), and NRC staff compensation.

"These are practical, targeted proposals that complement everything you have already accomplished. Each bill addresses a specific opportunity to further modernize the process without compromising safety," said ClearPath Action CEO Jeremy Harrell, one of the witnesses at the hearing.

About the bills: The Nuclear Recycling Efficient Fuels Utilizing Expedited Licensing (REFUEL) Act amends the Atomic Energy Act and clarifies that certain nuclear fuel recycling facilities can be licensed under regulatory frameworks used in other types of fuel facilities.

"Recently, several of us visited a fuel recycling facility in northern France to have a better sense of the potential for this technology in the United States. This legislation will result in efficient permitting changes to extract additional energy out of used fuel," said bill sponsor and subcommittee chair Rep. Bob Latta (R., Ohio).

Another bill, the Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act, would make the mandatory uncontested hearings the NRC conducts in its licensing reviews optional. Current law requires applications for construction permits, early site permits, and combined licenses to include a hearing even if no party requested one. Harrell said these hearings take up roughly 1,500 hours of NRC staff preparation, cost applicants millions of dollars, and delay licensing approvals by an average of six months.

If this proposal sounds familiar, that's because it isn't the first time similar legislation was brought before Congress. A nearly identical bill was considered by the U.S. Senate in 2024; the current bill was introduced in 2025. Nine former NRC commissioners voiced their support of this type of legislation last year. Meanwhile, the NRC is making changes to when mandatory hearings are held by shifting them toward the start of the licensing process rather than at the tail end.

The Department of Energy Nuclear Transparency Act, on the other hand, would require greater transparency from the DOE in its authorization of nuclear reactors. Bill sponsor Rep. Kathy Castor (D., Fla.) used the agency's Reactor Pilot Program as an example.

"Over the past year, the department has developed new authorization processes for research demonstration reactors separate from the typical NRC licensing processes," said Castor, also the subcommittee ranking member. "The NRC has proposed giving DOE-approved reactors an accelerated licensing pathway. However, [Secretary Chris Wright] has provided little information on how DOE will preserve safety and transparency in this new fast track process."

The subcommittee also used Tuesday's hearing to discuss three pieces of draft legislation. The American Enrichment Deployment Act further amends the Atomic Energy Act by updating the licensing procedures for uranium enrichment facilities. The objective here is "to enable the timely, safe deployment of such facilities," according to the draft bill. The NRC Staff Pay Alignment Act seeks to better compensate NRC staff by considering the increasing competition among the nuclear workforce and nuclear companies. Finally, the Nuclear Advisory Committee Reform Act would update the role of the NRC's ACRS in licensing and oversight and codify what is in EO 14300. The executive order directed the independent technical group to function at a statutory minimum and that the committee's permitting and licensing reviews "shall focus on issues that are truly novel and noteworthy."

"Congress has made important investments in the nuclear fuel cycle. Timely implementation is critical to reduce reliance on adversarial suppliers," Nuclear Energy Institute president and CEO Maria Korsnick said of the American Enrichment Deployment Act and the need to boost domestic uranium enrichment.

Latta said the six bills-which have bipartisan support-provide additional updates to other bipartisan legislation Congress passed, such as the ADVANCE Act, the Nuclear Fuel Security Act, and the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act.

"I think the bills we have in front of us are a good step forward to help bring that regulatory predictability," added Korsnick. "A strong industry needs a strong regulator. We're very supportive of having a very strong and very capable regulator. I think the bills before us do a good job at managing that and bringing efficiency into the equation."

Along with Korsnick and Harrell, Tuesday's witnesses included Jeffrey Merrifield, chair of United States Nuclear Industry Board of Directors; and Kathryn Huff, incoming dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics.