[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9351 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9351
To require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to distribute an optional
and anonymous survey to certain Commission employees to ultimately find
solutions to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the
Commission, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 22, 2022
Mr. Donalds (for himself, Mr. Fleischmann, Mr. Nehls, Mr. Bishop of
Georgia, Ms. Mace, and Mr. Posey) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to distribute an optional
and anonymous survey to certain Commission employees to ultimately find
solutions to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the
Commission, 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 ``Nuclear Regulatory Commission Survey
Act'' or the ``NRC Survey Act''.
SEC. 2. NRC SURVEY.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The Commission is an independent agency created by
Congress in 1974 to ensure the safe use of radioactive
materials and nuclear power for beneficial civilian purposes
while protecting people and the environment.
(2) The mission of the Commission is to regulate the
national civilian use of nuclear byproducts, nuclear sources,
and special nuclear materials to ensure adequate protection of
public health and safety, to promote the common defense and
security, and to protect the environment.
(3) Before commercial nuclear technology can be deployed in
the United States, it must be approved by the Commission.
(4) Historically, the Commission has been a thorough,
methodical, and conservative agency and is considered to be the
gold standard in the world with respect to regulating nuclear
power.
(5) The Commission is a technically competent agency that
seeks strategies to successfully modernize its approach to
license the next generation of nuclear reactors.
(6) Current licensing procedures through the Commission are
very prescriptive and based primarily on conventional
pressurized water reactor designs that have the potential to
restrict nuclear innovation.
(7) The existing design, licensing, and delivery processes
for new reactor projects are extremely expensive and have
lengthy timelines compared to such design, licensing, and
delivery processes in other countries.
(8) The Commission reports directly to Congress each year
and is an independent agency that is not a part of the
executive branch.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that Congress--
(1) recognizes the need for the Commission to maintain
public trust by keeping the nuclear industry safe while also
recognizing the need for increased efficiency to license
nuclear reactors in the United States;
(2) understands that asking for continued transparency from
the Commission relating to the development and licensing of
nuclear reactors is important for Congress and the American
public;
(3) stresses the need for the Commission to modernize its
regulatory regime to facilitate efficient licensing of
innovative next-generation nuclear technology; and
(4) believes that unnecessarily long licensing reviews
raise significant barriers to investment, reduce customer
interest in advanced reactors, and threaten the long-term
deployment potential of nuclear reactors for the next
generation.
(c) NRC Employee Survey.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the inspector general shall draft and
distribute an optional and anonymous survey, in accordance with
paragraphs (3) and (4), to covered employees.
(2) Report.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
distributing the survey to covered employees pursuant to
paragraph (1), the inspector general shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report containing--
(A) an unbiased cumulative summary of the responses
to each question of such survey;
(B) a document that contains every individual
response to each question of such survey; and
(C) any other information the inspector general
determines necessary or appropriate.
(3) Contents of survey.--The survey drafted and distributed
under paragraph (1) shall inquire about the following:
(A) Any enhancements that can be made to existing
licensing frameworks utilized by the Commission to
increase the efficiency, timeliness, and predictability
of engagements between the Commission and licensees.
(B) How the Commission could improve the process of
preparing for and learning about the technical details
of each proposed nuclear reactor in a licensing
application.
(C) How the Commission could improve outreach to
stakeholders, including any recommendations with
respect to changing the existing policies of the
Commission relating to public engagement.
(D) Whether the Commission implemented a risk-
informed and performance-based approach to reviewing
licensing applications and, if implemented, how the
Commission has implemented such approach to reviewing
licensing applications.
(E) Examples of laws or regulations relating to
nuclear energy that--
(i) may be unnecessary, irrelevant, or
duplicative;
(ii) need to be revised for modern advanced
reactors; and
(iii) negatively affects the effectiveness
and efficiency of the Commission.
(F) How the Commission could maximize the
efficiency of licensing reactors that are similar to
reactors that are already licensed by the Commission.
(G) How efficient the Commission would be in
reviewing licensing applications if the Commission
reviewed licensing applications through a holistic
approach instead of a chapter-by-chapter approach.
(H) How providing clear expectations and targets
for achievable review milestones for potential
applicants would affect the process of reviewing and
approving licensing applications.
(I) Suggestions for Congress to revise or clarify
any terms and definitions relating to nuclear energy
that--
(i) are used within the scope of employment
for covered employees;
(ii) may be outdated;
(iii) have inconsistencies in term usage or
definitions across different laws and
regulations; or
(iv) with respect to terms and definitions
relating to nuclear energy in laws and
regulations, used within the scope of
employment for covered employees.
(J) Any term, and the corresponding definition,
relating to nuclear energy and nuclear waste matters in
laws and regulations, that are used within the scope of
employment for covered employees, that--
(i) may be outdated and in need of
revision;
(ii) have--
(I) inconsistencies in the
definition of such term across
different laws and regulations; or
(II) inconsistencies in the
definition of such term across
different agencies; and
(iii) may affect potential innovation in
the nuclear industry due to the inconsistencies
described in clause (ii) in the definition of
such term.
(K) Suggestions to Congress to clarify any
inconsistencies described in paragraph (3)(J)(ii).
(L) Whether covered employees feel a sense of
urgency when reviewing a licensing application.
(M) Whether covered employees believe that the lack
of efficient licensing is hampering nuclear innovation
and dissuading American companies from getting involved
in the nuclear industry.
(N) Whether covered employees believe that the
Commission is capable of approving potentially hundreds
of new licensing applications, including licensing
applications for fission reactors and fusion reactors,
in a timely manner over the course of the upcoming
decades.
(O) Suggestions to redefine the overall mission
statement and mandate of the Commission so that such
mission statement and mandate reflects the goals of
maintaining safety and promoting nuclear innovation.
(P) Challenges a covered employee faces on a daily
basis within the scope of employment of such covered
employee and how Congress could alleviate such
challenges.
(Q) How the current funding structure of the
Commission affects the ability of the Commission to--
(i) engage in rulemaking or licensing
review;
(ii) educate covered employees; and
(iii) conduct research to support risk-
informed and performance-based regulations.
(R) How the current funding structure of the
Commission may inhibit private companies from--
(i) rapidly acquiring licenses for new
nuclear reactors; and
(ii) suggesting improvements to the
Commission, if any, to such funding structure.
(S) Any obstacles imposed by the Commission that--
(i) negatively affect American nuclear
competitiveness; and
(ii) should be removed.
(T) How the Commission could improve the resolution
of disagreements between applicants and covered
employees.
(U) Recommendations on improving communication
between the Commission and applicants with respect to
providing an early and predictable timeline and
estimated costs of the licensing application process,
including preapplication review and application review.
(V) Whether the Advisory Committee on Reactor
Safeguards (established under section 29 of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2039)) is effectively and
efficiently reviewing safety studies and licensing
applications, or whether the role of the Advisory
Committee on Reactor Safeguards--
(i) is unnecessary and redundant with the
existing review process by the Commission; and
(ii) ultimately impedes nuclear innovation.
(W) How the Commission is using artificial
intelligence, whether the functions of the Commission
could be improved if the Commission adopted an AI-
friendly culture, and what organizational challenges
the Commission would face in adopting and using a
broader range of artificial intelligence.
(X) How digitizing old data and information may
improve the overall efficiency of the Commission, the
steps taken to digitize such data and information, and
any challenges the Commission is facing or will face in
digitizing such data and information.
(Y) Challenges the Commission faces with relying on
data from safety and performance data simulations of
proposed nuclear reactors during the application
review.
(Z) How effective the Commission is at
communicating to applicants, potential applicants, and
nuclear stakeholders about changes made to the
regulatory process.
(AA) Whether any new requirements or processes
implemented following the nuclear accident in Fukushima
may have inadvertently changed the culture and safety
precautions of the Commission in a negative manner,
including any unnecessary and burdensome regulations
that were promulgated due to such nuclear accident.
(BB) How to make the budget and fee processes of
the Commission more transparent.
(CC) Whether the Commission is taking appropriate
actions to hire highly skilled, technical individuals
to prepare for the future influx of licensing new
nuclear reactors.
(DD) Whether the Federal Government should
standardize the definition of nuclear waste.
(EE) The effectiveness of topical reports in the
licensing process, how topical reports improve the
efficiency of the licensing process, any challenges
that are involved with topical reports, and suggestions
on how to improve the timeliness of reviewing and
approving topical reports.
(FF) In the event the use of a topic report is not
applicable, the effectiveness of other forms of
preapplication engagement, including how the Commission
and potential applicants may reach a resolution or
binding conclusions on key issues in a timely manner.
(GG) How the Commission could navigate
environmental impact statements in an efficient and
effective manner, and any challenges that arise while
performing and reviewing environmental impact
statements.
(HH) Any lessons the Commission can learn from
foreign governmental agencies that govern nuclear
energy.
(II) Any other question that the inspector general,
in consultation with the Commissioners of the
Commission, determines appropriate.
(4) Additional language.--The survey drafted and
distributed under paragraph (1) shall include at the top of the
survey a statement that--
(A) describes the intent of this Act in relation to
the purpose of the survey drafted and distributed under
paragraph (1); and
(B) assures covered employees that there will be no
repercussions or consequences from taking such survey.
(d) Stakeholder Survey.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the inspector general shall, if
feasible, draft and distribute a survey similar to the survey
under subsection (c) to stakeholders in the nuclear industry in
accordance with this subsection.
(2) Participation.--
(A) Stakeholder request.--If feasible, in
distributing a survey under paragraph (1), the
inspector general shall distribute such survey to a
stakeholder in the nuclear industry only upon request
by such stakeholder.
(B) Anonymity.--If feasible, the inspector general
shall establish a process that allows stakeholders in
the nuclear industry to anonymously request to
participate in the survey under subsection (a).
(C) Notification.--If stakeholders in the nuclear
industry are able to anonymously request to participate
in the survey under this subsection, not later than 5
days after the date the Commission distributes the
survey described in subsection (c), the inspector
general shall notify such stakeholders that have
previously engaged with the Commission, and such
stakeholders that are engaged in discussions with the
Commission at a time after the date of enactment of
this Act, about the opportunity to participate in the
survey under paragraph (1).
(3) Report.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
distributing the survey described in paragraph (1), the
inspector general shall transmit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report, accompanying the report in
subsection (c)(2), containing--
(A) an unbiased cumulative summary of the responses
to each question of such survey;
(B) a document that contains each individual
response to each question of such survey; and
(C) any other information the inspector general
determines necessary or appropriate.
(e) Excluded Activity From Cost-Recovery Requirement.--Section
102(b)(1)(B) of the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act
(Public Law 115-439; 132 Stat. 5565) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(iv) Costs for activities related to
drafting and distributing surveys under the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Survey Act.''.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the
Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of
Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of
the Senate.
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.
(3) Covered employee.--The term ``covered employee'' means
any applicable employee of the Commission.
(4) Inspector general.--The term ``inspector general''
means the inspector general of the Commission.
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