National Opportunity to Restore Uranium Supply Services In America Act of 2022 or the NO RUSSIA Act of 2022
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.
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.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7403 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7403
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 5, 2022
Mr. Latta (for himself, Mrs. Lesko, Ms. Cheney, Mr. Carter of Georgia,
Mr. Walberg, and Mr. Donalds) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to
the Committee on Armed Services, 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 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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 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''.
SEC. 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).
SEC. 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), 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 Reallocation.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the amounts described in paragraph (2) shall be
reallocated to the Office of Nuclear Energy of the Department
for the purpose of executing the program described in
subsection (a) by--
(A) continuing the activities initiated by the
Department, including the National Nuclear Security
Administration, using the amounts described in the
proviso referred to in that paragraph;
(B) carrying out other activities consistent with
the purposes for which the amounts described in that
proviso were originally made available; and
(C) carrying out activities in accordance with this
section.
(2) Amounts described.--The amounts referred to in
paragraph (1) are the amounts that remain available as of the
date of enactment of this Act from the $75,000,000 that shall
be used for the Uranium Reserve Program described in 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), that were made available to the
Department by that Act.
(3) Clarification.--Paragraph (1) 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 paragraph (2).
SEC. 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.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, 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.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, 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.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy.
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