Senate Approves Major Nuclear Energy Bill with Overwhelming Support
In a decisive 88-2 vote, the U.S. Senate passed a significant piece of legislation designed to strengthen America’s nuclear energy industry.
The bill, opposed only by Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), was merged with separate legislation to reauthorize the U.S. Fire Administration and grant programs supporting firefighters. This combined legislative package is now headed to the president for final approval.
“We benefit from more tools in the toolbox as we take on the climate crisis—with the urgency the moment demands,” said White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi.
This bipartisan measure is intended to speed up the approval process for building new nuclear facilities, as many existing plants are nearing the end of their operational lifespans. The legislation also lowers licensing costs for power companies and directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to assess how to streamline and accelerate environmental reviews.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) expressed optimism ahead of the vote, telling reporters, “Hopefully it will be history-making in terms of small modular reactors, which is the future of nuclear.”
Proponents of the bill view it as a significant step forward for the nuclear industry.
“It’s a facilitator of the process by which industry has to get approvals for building these projects,” said Lesley Jantarasami, managing director of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s energy program, in an interview with The Hill.
However, the legislation has faced pushback from some experts and lawmakers.
Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, raised concerns about a section of the bill that changes the NRC’s mission to avoid “unnecessarily” restricting nuclear energy. He argued that this could jeopardize safety standards.
“I just see this as inviting the industry to challenge every decision that the commission tries to make that has the potential to impose more than this minimum amount of regulation and could essentially paralyze it from actually working to improve nuclear safety and security,” Lyman told The Hill.
The House of Representatives also passed the joint nuclear and fire-related legislation by a wide margin, voting 393-13-1. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) chose to vote “present,” signaling her support for firefighter programs while objecting to the nuclear provisions.
“I voted present in objection to the ridiculous decision to tie the reauthorization of vital firefighting programs for our communities together with poison pills that undermine nuclear safety and were strongly opposed by leading grassroots environmental organizations,” she said in a statement to The Hill.
This legislative move aligns with the Trump administration’s continued emphasis on bolstering domestic energy production.
The Department of Energy highlighted several early accomplishments during the administration’s first 100 days, including:
- Restart of the Palisades Nuclear Plant
- Promotion of U.S.-made small modular reactors (SMRs)
- Dow and X-Energy seeking a permit for advanced reactor construction
- HALEU fuel allocated to five advanced reactor developers
- Introduction of higher-enriched fuel in a U.S. commercial reactor
- Conducting the first fast reactor fuel safety test of the century
- Reducing reliance on cobalt imports from China
- Launch of a new research testbed for nuclear-powered space propulsion
- Debut of a groundbreaking molten salt test loop
- Progress on molten salt fuel production
- Advancing a civil nuclear energy agreement with Poland
“Nuclear energy is off to a fast start in the first 100 days of the Trump Administration,” the Department of Energy stated in a press release. “Several major milestones have already been announced since President Trump took office in January, from strengthening our nuclear fuel supply chain to supporting the nation’s first restart of a retired nuclear power plant.”
The department added, “The long-awaited nuclear renaissance is right around the corner thanks to President Trump as the Administration works to restore American energy dominance to bring more reliable, secure, and affordable power back to U.S. taxpayers.”