S.Amdt. 3453

SA 3453. Mr. LEE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 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 appropriate place in subtitle C of title XXXI,
insert the following:

SEC. 31__. SURPLUS DEFENSE PLUTONIUM FOR COMMERCIAL REACTORS.

(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Energy shall establish
within the Office of Nuclear Energy a milestone-based program
to be known as the ``Surplus Defense Plutonium for Commercial
Reactors Program'' (referred to in this section as the
``Program''), which shall be headed by the Assistant
Secretary for Nuclear Energy (referred to in this section as
the ``Assistant Secretary'').
(b) Duties.--
(1) In general.--In carrying out the Program, the Assistant
Secretary, in collaboration with the Administrator for
Nuclear Security and the Assistant Secretary for
Environmental Management, shall--
(A) work with industry to determine interest in obtaining
access to surplus defense plutonium or defense plutonium
materials, currently located within the Department of Energy
complex, so that such plutonium can

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be utilized by commercial nuclear fuel fabricators that have
been deemed qualified by the Assistant Secretary, including
having contracted fuel offtake (referred to in this section
as ``participants''), for fabrication into fuel for advanced
nuclear reactors;
(B) enter into agreements with participants utilizing the
Other Transaction Agreement authority; and
(C) distribute such plutonium to participants for
processing and fabrication through a milestone-based program
that requires participants to meet particular technical
milestones, as determined by the Assistant Secretary, before
a participant is awarded portions of material by the
Department.
(2) Timeline.--The Assistant Secretary shall--
(A) not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, commence carrying out subparagraphs (A) and (B)
of paragraph (1);
(B) not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, complete carrying out paragraph (1)(B);
(C) not later than January 1, 2028, commence carrying out
paragraph (1)(C); and
(D) not later than January 1, 2035, complete carrying out
paragraph (1)(C).
(c) Termination of Surplus Plutonium Dilute and Dispose
Program.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall
terminate the surplus plutonium dilute and dispose program
except with respect to the legal obligations of the
Department of Energy to the State of South Carolina.
(d) Transfer.--
(1) In general.--Upon termination of the surplus plutonium
dilute and dispose program pursuant to subsection (c), the
unobligated balance of any amounts previously appropriated or
otherwise made available to the Department of Energy for the
surplus plutonium dilute and dispose program shall be
transferred to the Office of Nuclear Energy.
(2) Use of funds.--The Assistant Secretary shall use the
funds transferred pursuant to paragraph (1) carry out this
section.
(e) Annual Briefing.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of this Act, and every year thereafter until
such time the Program is completed, the Assistant Secretary,
in coordination with the Administrator for Nuclear Security
and the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management,
shall provide to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate, the Committee on Armed Services of
the Senate, the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House
of Representatives, and the Committee on Armed Services of
the House of Representatives a briefing on the progress of
the Program.
(f) Application to the State of South Carolina.--The
establishment of the Program under this section shall not
affect the legal obligations of the Department of Energy to
the State of South Carolina.
______