[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 124 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 124
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United
States should support the expansion of domestic nuclear energy and
advanced nuclear technology as a viable source of power in order to
promote United States nuclear energy leadership and global energy
independence.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 14, 2023
Mr. Donalds (for himself, Mr. Fleischmann, Mrs. Cammack, Mr. Nehls, Mr.
Owens, Mr. Moore of Alabama, Mr. Feenstra, Ms. Mace, Mr. Cline, and Mr.
Weber of Texas) submitted the following resolution; 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
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United
States should support the expansion of domestic nuclear energy and
advanced nuclear technology as a viable source of power in order to
promote United States nuclear energy leadership and global energy
independence.
Whereas nuclear energy has generated one-fifth of the electricity used in the
United States since 1990;
Whereas the Secretary of Energy has stated that, ``nuclear energy is clean
energy and it is vital to creating good-paying jobs, supporting our
energy transition, and saving our planet'';
Whereas the International Energy Agency determined that nuclear power forms the
cornerstone of zero-carbon electricity generation;
Whereas conventional nuclear energy plants are highly reliable and consistently
operate, on average, over 92 percent of the time;
Whereas the generation of electricity from nuclear energy is up to 2 times more
reliable than the generation of electricity from natural gas and coal,
and up to 3.5 times more reliable than the generation of electricity
from wind and solar;
Whereas nuclear reactors produce substantially more energy relative to their
land footprint than solar and wind projects, which require over 30 times
and 100 times, respectfully, the land area for the same generating
capacity;
Whereas 482,000,000 metric tons of carbon emissions were avoided by using
nuclear energy in 2021;
Whereas, in 2019, 476,000,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions were not
released into the atmosphere due to the utilization of nuclear energy in
the United States, which is equivalent to removing 100,000,000 cars off
the road;
Whereas conversely, in 2014, Vermont's Yankee Nuclear Plant closed and the State
saw a 650,000-metric ton increase in carbon dioxide emissions within
just 2 months;
Whereas electricity demand throughout the United States is predicted to increase
by approximately 34 percent by 2050;
Whereas, as of July 8, 2020, there are 28 States in which at least 1 commercial
nuclear reactor operates;
Whereas many States around the United States have enacted nuclear energy-related
laws and are in the process of adopting policies and appropriating
funding for the expansion of nuclear energy in their State;
Whereas nuclear energy facilities can repurpose retired fossil fuel power plants
by using existing infrastructure and transitioning fossil fuel power
plant workers that already understand the basics of operating the
nuclear energy facility;
Whereas, in 2022, nuclear energy supported over 475,000 well-paying,
sustainable, direct and indirect jobs throughout the American nuclear
industry;
Whereas building a conventional nuclear reactor employs up to 7,000 workers at
peak construction;
Whereas nuclear energy worker salaries are, on average, 50 percent higher than
the salaries of employees that work in other electricity generation
facilities;
Whereas the United States nuclear energy industry spends roughly $11,000,000,000
annually on labor, which is approximately $100,000,000 per reactor per
year;
Whereas, for every 100 jobs at a nuclear power plant in the United States, 66
other jobs are created in the local community;
Whereas nearly 1 in 4 nuclear energy workers are veterans;
Whereas nuclear energy adds approximately $60,000,000,000 to the United States
gross domestic product each year;
Whereas, unlike most energy sources, nuclear power plants have up to 2 years of
fuel stored securely on-site, which makes nuclear power plants hardened
against fuel-related supply chain disruptions;
Whereas a uranium pellet the size of a pencil eraser contains the same amount of
energy as 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas, 1,780 pounds of coal, or 149
gallons of oil;
Whereas 5 uranium pellets generate enough electricity to power the average
household annually, which compares to the same amount of electricity
produced by 5 tons of coal;
Whereas global uranium supply is vastly available and the United States can
generate nuclear power at its current levels for more than a century
with just the natural uranium ore deposits that have already been
identified;
Whereas nuclear power plants offer a level of protection against natural and
adversarial threats that goes far beyond the protective measures taken
at most other American energy generating facilities;
Whereas nuclear power plants' infrastructure and facilities are built to
withstand extreme weather, as proven during past and recent hurricanes
and freezing temperatures driven by polar vortex events;
Whereas the safe operation of nuclear energy in the United States has resulted
in no radiation-related deaths or long-term evacuation of surrounding
communities;
Whereas the utilization of conventional and advanced nuclear energy technologies
will significantly reduce energy costs, although the initial investment
burden of licensing and constructing any type of nuclear reactor will be
substantial;
Whereas the production of nuclear energy has become a much safer and more
efficient process with the development and commercialization of
innovative advanced nuclear reactors;
Whereas advanced nuclear reactors present uniquely innovative options for the
sustainable generation of clean energy in the United States and around
the world;
Whereas a typical 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in the United States
requires approximately one square mile of land to operate, however an
advanced nuclear reactor requires about 3 times less land area compared
to a conventional nuclear power plant, depending on the reactor type and
the specific characteristics of the community;
Whereas the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulates 31 research and test
reactors;
Whereas approximately 98 universities in the United States offer a nuclear
engineering program and several universities have expressed interest in
advanced nuclear reactors as a power source for their campuses;
Whereas more than 45 companies and research organizations across the United
States have advanced nuclear energy projects underway;
Whereas many advanced nuclear reactors, in comparison to conventional nuclear
reactors, can operate at much higher temperatures without water, have
built in safety features (such as automatic shutoff mechanisms), can
operate autonomously without disruption for several years at a time, and
have a naturally enhanced resistance to nuclear proliferation;
Whereas low-emission heat and steam from advanced nuclear reactors can supply
reliable, clean energy for hard-to-decarbonize sectors, such as the
industrial sector and chemical production sector;
Whereas the total amount of spent nuclear fuel produced over the tenure of the
United States nuclear energy industry could fit within the bounds of a
football field at a depth of less than 10 yards;
Whereas spent nuclear fuel can--
(1) be safely stored in a deep geological repository;
(2) be repurposed and recycled using innovative technology; and
(3) potentially be safely stored underground using techniques such as
deep borehole drilling;
Whereas certain advanced nuclear reactors have the capability to use spent
nuclear fuel from another nuclear reactor as a fuel source;
Whereas recycling spent nuclear fuel could significantly reduce the burden of
storing spent nuclear fuel, which would make the nuclear fuel cycle more
sustainable and further reduce the already-low carbon footprint of
nuclear energy;
Whereas 96 percent of spent nuclear fuel content is reusable energy, and
recycling spent nuclear fuel can cut the use of natural uranium
resources by 25 percent, reduce the volume of high-level waste slated
for disposal by 75 percent, and reduce the waste's toxicity by
approximately 90 percent;
Whereas spent nuclear fuel can be reprocessed up to 3 cycles;
Whereas, by 2050, energy produced by advanced nuclear reactors may account for a
significant amount of the clean energy generated in the United States,
with certain estimates predicting that up to 50 percent of total United
States electricity generation could come from conventional and advanced
nuclear energy sources;
Whereas the offsite component fabrication and modular manufacturing process for
advanced nuclear reactors will likely lead to cheaper and faster
installation, reduced regulatory burdens, and ultimately a streamlined
commercial deployment of advanced nuclear reactors;
Whereas advanced nuclear reactors offer seamless integration to complement other
renewables within microgrids, balancing out variations in generation
over time to reliably meet demand in the United States;
Whereas, in the aftermath of a natural disaster when power outages persist, an
easily transportable advanced nuclear reactor could provide electricity
or heat for essential services, such as hospitals, airports,
communications centers, government offices, and water purification
facilities, instead of diesel generators, thereby producing a cleaner
and more efficient source of power that can last up to 20 years without
refueling;
Whereas nuclear medicine, including the use of medical radioactive isotopes, can
be used to diagnose and treat different diseases with pinpoint
precision, which will ultimately save American lives;
Whereas radioactivity used for medical diagnostics and treatments is elementally
the same as that used for nuclear power;
Whereas medical isotopes are made in nuclear reactors;
Whereas, with advances in nuclear science and technology, and new approaches to
the medical application of radioisotope technology, outcomes for cancer
patients have improved tremendously;
Whereas nuclear power plants produce a vital resource in the global fight
against COVID-19: Cobalt-60, which has sterilized billions of pieces of
medical equipment in hospitals on the front lines of the pandemic;
Whereas nuclear radiation is used to treat food and kill bacteria, insects, and
parasites that cause illness;
Whereas the Armed Forces have intentions to utilize advanced nuclear reactors at
United States military bases, both domestically and internationally,
because of advanced nuclear reactor's ability to generate clean
electricity consistently and reliably in locations that experience
severe weather patterns;
Whereas the Armed Forces are currently using diesel for generators in these
remote locations to provide electricity, such as in Alaska, which
require refueling approximately every 72 hours;
Whereas, since 1954, the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program has maintained and
operated more than 100 naval nuclear reactors, serviced and supplied by
thousands of American workers, to power United States aircraft carriers,
submarines, and other military vessels;
Whereas advanced nuclear propulsion provides an alternative clean energy source
to power commercial ships to cut emissions and remove the costly
refueling infrastructure needs for liquid-based energy carriers;
Whereas floating nuclear barges are being designed and developed to supply
energy to remote locations and areas impacted by a natural disaster;
Whereas the advantages of using advanced nuclear propulsion include long
intervals between refueling, faster transit speeds, production of heat
or cooling for cargo, reduced draft allowing increased cargo capacity,
eliminating the need to transport huge quantities of engine fuel, and
reducing the probability of environmental damage from fuel leakages;
Whereas nuclear thermal propulsion and nuclear electric propulsion vehicles are
to be made at one-third to one-half the size of comparable chemical
propulsion vehicles, which would increase travel speeds and cut costs of
space missions;
Whereas nuclear thermal propulsion can be used to transport astronauts and cargo
to Mars in 4 to 5 months, rapidly decreasing long term radiation
exposure in space, as opposed to 7 to 9 months using traditional
chemical fuels;
Whereas the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and private
companies are creating technologies that use advanced nuclear
radioisotopes to channel heat into electricity, even in temperatures
below -280\o\ F on the lunar surface, for both manned and unmanned
missions to Earth's satellites, the Earth's Moon, Mars, and deep space;
Whereas NASA and the Department of Defense have programs in place to put a lunar
nuclear reactor on the moon in the early 2030s to supply electricity for
Artemis missions, since the lunar night is roughly 14 days and solar
panels would not be able to generate power from the sun and energy
storage is too large and costly;
Whereas advanced lunar nuclear reactors can be used for future space missions to
Mars, since Mars has dust storms that cover solar panels, rendering them
useless, which recently led to the shut down of NASA's Insight Mission
after only 4 years;
Whereas nuclear energy may be used to desalinate highly salty waters and
industrial wastewater to ultimately produce multiuse potable water;
Whereas nuclear energy has the potential to cleanly power large-scale hydrogen
production facilities and utilize direct heat from the nuclear reactor
to assist with the hydrogen production process;
Whereas advanced nuclear reactors offer the possibility of a clean source of
energy to power energy intensive mining operations that are typically
powered by diesel generators;
Whereas advanced nuclear reactors can be coupled with other renewable sources of
energy, such as wind and solar, to power electric railroads and electric
vehicle charging stations;
Whereas advanced nuclear reactors can produce clean, consistent, and reliable
energy to power data centers which typically require large amounts of
energy; and
Whereas the future of cryptocurrency mining, which requires extensive energy
output, will greatly benefit from utilizing a noncarbon-emitting,
stable, and cost-competitive nuclear power source: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives
that, in order to meet the growing energy demands of the United States
in a domestically favorable fashion and to promote American nuclear
energy leadership while retaining the United States economic viability
in the worldwide nuclear energy marketplace, it is necessary to expand
the use of nuclear energy by--
(1) embracing efforts to maintain the existing nuclear
fleet and promoting efforts that seek to utilize emerging
innovative nuclear energy technologies, such as advanced
nuclear reactors, to promote increased energy output, improve
public safety, more effectively reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, and alleviate the continuous challenge relating to
storing spent nuclear fuel;
(2) recognizing nuclear energy as one of the cleanest power
sources in regard to greenhouse gas emissions, while
simultaneously understanding nuclear energy's capability of
being coupled with other clean energy sources, and stressing
the importance of nuclear energy being recognized on a level
regulatory playing field that is similar to other clean energy
generating sources;
(3) supporting initiatives by the Department of Defense for
the deployment of nuclear reactors to enhance energy resiliency
and electricity assurance for critical military missions,
systems, and assets in contested logistical environments where
fuel supplies are targeted or denied;
(4) addressing critical domestic gaps in the procurement of
nuclear reactor construction material, and resolving current
barriers and obstacles that relate to a domestic supply of
nuclear fuel and other nuclear supply chain challenges;
(5) encouraging sustainable domestic mining of uranium, in
addition to increasing uranium enrichment, fabrication, and
deconversion capabilities in the United States to efficiently
secure America's energy independence and power United States
nuclear reactors without the need to rely on other countries;
(6) actively increasing public awareness surrounding the
safety of nuclear energy and continuously combating false
information relating to nuclear power, including nuclear
energy's negative connotation in the United States which
originates from the only 3 nuclear accidents in the history of
the world, including the only event that took place in the
United States in March of 1979 at Three Mile Island Nuclear
Generating Station Facility, in which no deaths or medical
symptoms were directly tied to the nuclear incident;
(7) streamlining the regulatory process, providing the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission the necessary resources to
effectuate positive change, and reducing the regulatory
barriers that currently derive from the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission's cautious and traditionalistic approach to the
licensing and constructing of new nuclear reactors, which such
regulatory approach is based on outdated technology standards
dating back over 50 years when the agency was first established
and solely focused on safely regulating conventional nuclear
reactors, to ultimately bolster innovation and encourage the
use of emerging technologies, such as advanced nuclear
reactors, to secure America's energy independence and allow for
the greater exercise of free enterprise, including
participation by America's small businesses that seek to get
involved in the nuclear industry, without reducing safety
precautions; and
(8) promoting the use of new advanced nuclear technologies
within energy, water, medicine, manufacturing, space, digital
assets, transportation, and other public policy areas.
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