The Senate’s 2024 National Defense Authorization Act includes the text of a bill that would extend nuclear-industry indemnity for catastrophic accidents and begin reforms at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
A spokesperson for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where the nuclear-reform bill originated, said in a statement Wednesday morning that the measure would be part of the 2024 defense policy bill.
The nuclear bill’s text in large part aims to make it easier for U.S. companies to export nuclear power technology, including the new reactor designs broadly referred to as advanced reactors. It would also:
- Extend the $13-billion liability cap known as the Price-Anderson Act by 20 years to 2045.
- Require annual reports, by 2025, from the Department of Energy on the U.S. nuclear-waste inventory and the associated federal financial liability.
- Mandate that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission assess every three years whether the agency uses “the most efficient metrics and schedules” to issue licenses.
Sen. Shelly Capito (R-W.Va.), the bill’s sponsor, released a short video announcing the inclusion of the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2023 in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The nuclear bill passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee 16-3 with bipartisan support.
The full NDAA text was not publicly available as of Wednesday. The Senate on Tuesday evening voted to curtail debate on the bill, teeing up passage as soon as this week. The House passed its version of the NDAA on Friday.
The NDAA is considered one of the only must-pass bills in Congress each year. It sets policy and spending limits for defense programs and, occasionally, attracts rider bills that might not get attention from lawmakers otherwise.
This year, civilian nuclear energy policy is hitching a ride.
