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]
[S. 3978 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3978
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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 31, 2022
Mr. Barrasso (for himself, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Cramer, and Mr. Marshall)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
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)(1), 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.--
(1) Reallocation.--
(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the amounts described in subparagraph
(B) shall be reallocated to the Office of Nuclear
Energy of the Department for the purpose of executing
the program described in subsection (a) by--
(i) continuing the activities initiated by
the Department, including the National Nuclear
Security Administration, using amounts made
available for the Uranium Reserve Program
pursuant to the proviso referred to in that
subparagraph;
(ii) carrying out other activities
consistent with the purposes for which the
amounts described in clause (i) were originally
made available; and
(iii) carrying out activities in accordance
with this section.
(B) Amounts described.--The amounts referred to in
subparagraph (A) are the amounts that remain available
as of the date of enactment of this Act from the
$75,000,000 made available for the Uranium Reserve
Program pursuant to 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).
(C) Clarification.--Subparagraph (A) 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
subparagraph (B) as available for the Uranium Reserve
Program.
(2) Authorization of appropriations.--In addition to
amounts otherwise made available, there is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section
$150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2032.
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.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to amounts
otherwise made available, there are authorized to be appropriated to
the Secretary such sums as are necessary to carry out this section for
each of fiscal years 2023 through 2032.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 117-523.
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