S.Amdt. 4549

SA 4549. Mr. TUBERVILLE submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be
proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal
year 2022 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for
military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of
Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year,
and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:

At the end of subtitle E of title XXXI, add the following:

SEC. 3157. PRESERVATION AND STORAGE OF URANIUM-233 TO FOSTER
DEVELOPMENT OF THORIUM MOLTEN-SALT REACTORS.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Thorium molten-salt reactor technology was originally
developed in the United States, primarily at the Oak Ridge
National Laboratory in the State of Tennessee.
(2) Before the cancellation of the program in 1976, the
technology developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory was
moving steadily toward efficient utilization of the natural
thorium energy resource, which exists in substantial amounts
in many parts of the United States and around the world.
(3) The People's Republic of China is known to be pursuing
the development of molten salt reactor technology based on a
thorium fuel cycle.
(4) Thorium itself is not fissile, but fertile, and
requires a fissile material to begin a nuclear chain
reaction.
(5) Uranium-233, derived from neutron absorption by natural
thorium, is the ideal candidate for the fissile component of
a thorium reactor, and is the only fissile material candidate
that can minimize the production of long-lived transuranic
elements, which have proven a great challenge to the geologic
disposal of existing spent nuclear fuel.
(6) Geologic disposal of spent nuclear fuel from
conventional nuclear reactors continues to pose severe
political and technical challenges, and costs the United
States taxpayer more than $500,000,000 annually in court-
mandated awards to utilities.
(7) The United States possesses the largest inventory of
uranium-233 in the world, aggregated at the Oak Ridge
National Laboratory.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) it is in the best economic and national security
interests of the United States to resume development of
highly efficient thorium molten-salt reactors that can
minimize transuranic waste production, in consideration of
the pursuit by the People's Republic of China of thorium
molten-salt reactors and associated cooperative research
agreements with United States national laboratories;
(2) that the development of highly efficient thorium
molten-salt reactors is consistent with section 1261 of the
John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232; 132 Stat. 2060), which
declared long-term strategic competition with the People's
Republic of China as ``a principal priority for the United
States''; and
(3) to resume such development, it is necessary to preserve
as much of the uranium-233 remaining at Oak Ridge National
Laboratory as possible.
(c) Preservation and Storage of Uranium-233.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Energy shall seek every
opportunity to preserve separated uranium-233, with the goal
of fostering development of thorium molten-salt reactors by
United States industry.
(2) Downblending and disposal of certain uranium.--The
Secretary may provide for the downblending and disposal of
uranium-233 determined by industry experts not to be valuable
for research and development of thorium molten-salt reactors
or technology implementation.
(d) Interagency Cooperation.--The Secretary of Energy, the
Secretary of the Army (including the head of the Army Reactor
Office), the Secretary of Transportation, the Tennessee
Valley Authority, and other relevant agencies shall--
(1) work together to preserve uranium-233;
(2) if necessary, expedite transfers of uranium-233 between
the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense; and
(3) seek the assistance of appropriate industrial or
medical entities.
(e) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy
shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report
that includes the following:
(1) Details of the separated U-233 inventory that is most
feasible for immediate or near-term transfer.
(2) The costs of constructing or modifying a suitable
category I facility for the secure, permanent storage of the
U-233 inventory.
(3) A pathway for National Asset Material designation.

[[Page S8054]]

(4) A description of the scope for such a facility that
would enable secure access to the nuclear material for
research and development of thorium fuel cycle reactors, for
defense and civilian applications, as well as for medical
isotope extraction and processing, including by developing
such a facility through public-private partnerships.
(5) An assessment of whether the Secretary should transfer
the ownership of U-233 from the Office of Environmental
Management to the Office of Nuclear Energy.
(6) An assessment of the ability of the Department of
Energy to transfer the inventory of U-233 that the Secretary
determines is most feasible for immediate or near-term
transfer to the Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge,
Tennessee, for secure interim storage.
(7) The feasibility of the National Nuclear Security
Administration providing for the secure storage of the
inventory of U-233 within the Y-12 National Security Complex
or another suitable location within the nuclear security
enterprise (as defined in section 4002 of the Atomic Energy
Defense Act (50 U.S.C. 2501)).
(f) No Funding Authorized.--The amount authorized to be
appropriated by section 3102 and available as specified in
the funding table in section 4701 for the U233 Disposition
Program is hereby reduced by $55,000,000.
______