Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1.  Purpose.  The United States originally pioneered nuclear energy technology during a time of great peril.  We now face a new set of challenges, including a global race to dominate in artificial intelligence, a growing need for energy independence, and access to uninterruptible power supplies for national security. 
It took nearly 40 years for the United States to add the same amount of nuclear capacity as another developed nation added in 10 years.Further, as American deployment of advanced reactor designs has waned, 87 percent of nuclear reactors installed worldwide since 2017 are based on designs from two foreign countries.At the same time, the Nation’s nuclear fuel cycle infrastructure has severely atrophied, leaving the United States heavily dependent on foreign sources of uranium as well as uranium enrichment and conversion services.These trends cannot continue.
Swift and decisive action is required to jumpstart America’s nuclear energy industrial base and ensure our national and economic security by increasing fuel availability and production, securing civil nuclear supply chains, improving the efficiency with which advanced nuclear reactors are licensed, and preparing our workforce to establish America’s energy dominance and accelerate our path towards a more secure and independent energy future.

Sec. 2.  Policy.  It is the policy of the United States to expedite and promote to the fullest possible extent the production and operation of nuclear energy to provide affordable, reliable, safe, and secure energy to the American people, to power advanced nuclear reactor technologies, as defined in 42 U.S.C. 16271(b)(1)(A), and to build associated supply chains that secure our global industrial and digital dominance, achieve our energy independence, protect our national security, and maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of nuclear fuel through recycling, reprocessing, and reinvigorating the commercial sector.

Sec. 3.  Strengthening the Domestic Nuclear Fuel Cycle.  (a)  Within 240 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), shall prepare and submit to the President, through the Chair of the National Energy Dominance Council and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, a report that includes:

(i.) a recommended national policy to support the management of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste and the development and deployment of advanced fuel cycle capabilities to establish a safe, secure, and sustainable long-term fuel cycle;

(ii.) a review of relevant statutory authorities to identify any legislative changes necessary or desirable to achieve the national policy recommended under subsection (a)(i) of this section; 

(iii.) an evaluation of the reprocessing and recycling of spent nuclear fuel from the operation of Department of Defense and Department of Energy reactors and other spent nuclear fuel managed by the Department of Energy, along with a discussion of steps the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy are taking or must take to improve such reprocessing and recycling processes;

(iv.) an analysis of legal, budgetary, and policy considerations relevant to efficiently transferring spent nuclear fuel from reactors to a government-owned, privately operated reprocessing and recycling facility;

(v.) recommendations for the efficient use of the uranium, plutonium, and other products recovered through recycling and reprocessing;

(vi.) recommendations for the efficient disposal of the wastes generated by recycling or reprocessing through a permanent disposal pathway;

(vii.) a recommended process for evaluating, prior to disposal, nuclear waste materials for isotopes of value to national security, or medical, industrial, and scientific sectors;

(viii.) a reevaluation of historic and current nuclear reprocessing, separation, and storage facilities slated for decommissioning and that are identified as having valuable materials, isotopes, equipment, licenses, operations, or experienced workers, and that may have potential fuel cycle or national security benefits if operations are continued or increased; and

(ix.) a program to develop methods and technologies to transport, domestically and overseas, used and unused advanced nuclear fuels and advanced nuclear reactors containing such fuels in a safe, secure, and environmentally sound manner, including any legislation required to support this initiative     (b) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Director of OMB, shall develop a plan to expand domestic uranium conversion capacity and expand enrichment capabilities sufficient to meet projected civilian and defense reactor needs for low enriched uranium (LEU), high enriched uranium (HEU) and high assay, low enriched uranium (HALEU), subject to retention of such stockpiles as are necessary for tritium production, naval propulsion, and nuclear weapons. The plan shall be implemented based on the timeframes set forth in the plan.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1.  Purpose.  The United States originally pioneered nuclear energy technology during a time of great peril.  We now face a new set of challenges, including a global race to dominate in artificial intelligence, a growing need for energy independence, and access to uninterruptible power supplies for national security. 
It took nearly 40 years for the United States to add the same amount of nuclear capacity as another developed nation added in 10 years.Further, as American deployment of advanced reactor designs has waned, 87 percent of nuclear reactors installed worldwide since 2017 are based on designs from two foreign countries.At the same time, the Nation’s nuclear fuel cycle infrastructure has severely atrophied, leaving the United States heavily dependent on foreign sources of uranium as well as uranium enrichment and conversion services.These trends cannot continue.
Swift and decisive action is required to jumpstart America’s nuclear energy industrial base and ensure our national and economic security by increasing fuel availability and production, securing civil nuclear supply chains, improving the efficiency with which advanced nuclear reactors are licensed, and preparing our workforce to establish America’s energy dominance and accelerate our path towards a more secure and independent energy future.

Sec. 2.  Policy.  It is the policy of the United States to expedite and promote to the fullest possible extent the production and operation of nuclear energy to provide affordable, reliable, safe, and secure energy to the American people, to power advanced nuclear reactor technologies, as defined in 42 U.S.C. 16271(b)(1)(A), and to build associated supply chains that secure our global industrial and digital dominance, achieve our energy independence, protect our national security, and maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of nuclear fuel through recycling, reprocessing, and reinvigorating the commercial sector.

Sec. 3.  Strengthening the Domestic Nuclear Fuel Cycle.  (a)  Within 240 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), shall prepare and submit to the President, through the Chair of the National Energy Dominance Council and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, a report that includes:

(i.) a recommended national policy to support the management of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste and the development and deployment of advanced fuel cycle capabilities to establish a safe, secure, and sustainable long-term fuel cycle;

(ii.) a review of relevant statutory authorities to identify any legislative changes necessary or desirable to achieve the national policy recommended under subsection (a)(i) of this section; 

(iii.) an evaluation of the reprocessing and recycling of spent nuclear fuel from the operation of Department of Defense and Department of Energy reactors and other spent nuclear fuel managed by the Department of Energy, along with a discussion of steps the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy are taking or must take to improve such reprocessing and recycling processes;

(iv.) an analysis of legal, budgetary, and policy considerations relevant to efficiently transferring spent nuclear fuel from reactors to a government-owned, privately operated reprocessing and recycling facility;

(v.) recommendations for the efficient use of the uranium, plutonium, and other products recovered through recycling and reprocessing;

(vi.) recommendations for the efficient disposal of the wastes generated by recycling or reprocessing through a permanent disposal pathway;

(vii.) a recommended process for evaluating, prior to disposal, nuclear waste materials for isotopes of value to national security, or medical, industrial, and scientific sectors;

(viii.) a reevaluation of historic and current nuclear reprocessing, separation, and storage facilities slated for decommissioning and that are identified as having valuable materials, isotopes, equipment, licenses, operations, or experienced workers, and that may have potential fuel cycle or national security benefits if operations are continued or increased; and

(ix.) a program to develop methods and technologies to transport, domestically and overseas, used and unused advanced nuclear fuels and advanced nuclear reactors containing such fuels in a safe, secure, and environmentally sound manner, including any legislation required to support this initiative     (b) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Director of OMB, shall develop a plan to expand domestic uranium conversion capacity and expand enrichment capabilities sufficient to meet projected civilian and defense reactor needs for low enriched uranium (LEU), high enriched uranium (HEU) and high assay, low enriched uranium (HALEU), subject to retention of such stockpiles as are necessary for tritium production, naval propulsion, and nuclear weapons. The plan shall be implemented based on the timeframes set forth in the plan.