Congressional Record Weekly UpdateNovember 17-21, 2003Return to the Congressional Report Weekly. 1A) Energy Policy Act of 2003, H.R. 6 - Excerpted Language from Conference Report TITLE VI--NUCLEAR MATTERS Subtitle A--Price-Anderson Act Amendments SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. This subtitle may be cited as the ``Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 2003''. SEC. 602. EXTENSION OF INDEMNIFICATION AUTHORITY. (a) INDEMNIFICATION OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION LICENSEES.--Section 170 c. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(c)) is amended-- (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ``LICENSES'' and inserting ``LICENSEES''; and (2) by striking ``December 31, 2003'' each place it appears and inserting ``December 31, 2023''. (b) INDEMNIFICATION OF DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CONTRACTORS.--Section 170 d.(1)(A) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(d)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ``December 31, 2004'' and inserting ``December 31, 2023''. (c) INDEMNIFICATION OF NONPROFIT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.--Section 170 k. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(k)) is amended by striking ``August 1, 2002'' each place it appears and inserting ``December 31, 2023''. SEC. 603. MAXIMUM ASSESSMENT. Section 170 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210) is amended-- (1) in the second proviso of the third sentence of subsection b.(1)-- (A) by striking ``$63,000,000'' and inserting ``$95,800,000''; and (B) by striking ``$10,000,000 in any 1 year'' and inserting ``$15,000,000 in any 1 year (subject to adjustment for inflation under subsection t.)''; and (2) in subsection t.(1)-- (A) by inserting ``total and annual'' after ``amount of the maximum''; (B) by striking ``the date of the enactment of the Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1988'' and inserting ``August 20, 2003''; and (C) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``such date of enactment'' and inserting ``August 20, 2003''. SEC. 604. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY LIABILITY LIMIT. (a) INDEMNIFICATION OF DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CONTRACTORS.--Section 170 d. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(d)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: ``(2) In an agreement of indemnification entered into under paragraph (1), the Secretary-- ``(A) may require the contractor to provide and maintain financial protection of such a type and in such amounts as the Secretary shall determine to be appropriate to cover public liability arising out of or in connection with the contractual activity; and ``(B) shall indemnify the persons indemnified against such liability above the amount of the financial protection required, in the amount of $10,000,000,000 (subject to adjustment for inflation under subsection t.), in the aggregate, for all persons indemnified in connection with the contract and for each nuclear incident, including such legal costs of the contractor as are approved by the Secretary.''. (b) CONTRACT AMENDMENTS.--Section 170 d. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(d)) is further amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following-- ``(3) All agreements of indemnification under which the Department of Energy (or its predecessor agencies) may be required to indemnify any person under this section shall be deemed to be amended, on the date of enactment of the Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 2003, to reflect the amount of indemnity for public liability and any applicable financial protection required of the contractor under this subsection.''. (c) LIABILITY LIMIT.--Section 170 e.(1)(B) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(e)(1)(B)) is amended-- (1) by striking ``the maximum amount of financial protection required under subsection b. or''; and (2) by striking ``paragraph (3) of subsection d., whichever amount is more'' and inserting ``paragraph (2) of subsection d.''. SEC. 605. INCIDENTS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES. (a) AMOUNT OF INDEMNIFICATION.--Section 170 d.(5) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(d)(5)) is amended by striking ``$100,000,000'' and inserting ``$500,000,000''. (b) LIABILITY LIMIT.--Section 170 e.(4) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(e)(4)) is amended by striking ``$100,000,000'' and inserting ``$500,000,000''. SEC. 606. REPORTS. Section 170 p. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(p)) is amended by striking ``August 1, 1998'' and inserting ``December 31, 2019''. SEC. 607. INFLATION ADJUSTMENT. Section 170 t. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(t)) is amended-- (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following: ``(2) The Secretary shall adjust the amount of indemnification provided under an agreement of indemnification under subsection d. not less than once during each 5-year period following July 1, 2003, in accordance with the aggregate percentage change in the Consumer Price Index since-- ``(A) that date, in the case of the first adjustment under this paragraph; or ``(B) the previous adjustment under this paragraph.''. SEC. 608. TREATMENT OF MODULAR REACTORS. Section 170 b. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(5)(A) For purposes of this section only, the Commission shall consider a combination of facilities described in subparagraph (B) to be a single facility having a rated capacity of 100,000 electrical kilowatts or more. ``(B) A combination of facilities referred to in subparagraph (A) is 2 or more facilities located at a single site, each of which has a rated capacity of 100,000 electrical kilowatts or more but not more than 300,000 electrical kilowatts, with a combined rated capacity of not more than 1,300,000 electrical kilowatts.''. [Page: H11246]
SEC. 609. APPLICABILITY. The amendments made by sections 603, 604, and 605 do not apply to a nuclear incident that occurs before the date of the enactment of this Act. SEC. 610. PROHIBITION ON ASSUMPTION BY UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT OF LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN FOREIGN INCIDENTS. Section 170 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: ``u. PROHIBITION ON ASSUMPTION OF LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN FOREIGN INCIDENTS.--Notwithstanding this section or any other provision of law, no officer of the United States or of any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government may enter into any contract or other arrangement, or into any amendment or modification of a contract or other arrangement, the purpose or effect of which would be to directly or indirectly impose liability on the United States Government, or any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government, or to otherwise directly or indirectly require an indemnity by the United States Government, for nuclear incidents occurring in connection with the design, construction, or operation of a production facility or utilization facility in any country whose government has been identified by the Secretary of State as engaged in state sponsorship of terrorist activities (specifically including any country the government of which, as of September 11, 2001, had been determined by the Secretary of State under section 620A(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371(a)), section 6(j)(1) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(j)(1)), or section 40(d) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2780(d)) to have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism). This subsection shall not apply to nuclear incidents occurring as a result of missions, carried out under the direction of the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary of State, that are necessary to safely secure, store, transport, or remove nuclear materials for nuclear safety or nonproliferation purposes.''. SEC. 611. CIVIL PENALTIES. (a) REPEAL OF AUTOMATIC REMISSION.--Section 234A b.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2282a(b)(2)) is amended by striking the last sentence. (b) LIMITATION FOR NOT-FOR-PROFIT INSTITUTIONS.--Subsection d. of section 234A of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2282a(d)) is amended to read as follows: ``d.(1) Notwithstanding subsection a., in the case of any not-for-profit contractor, subcontractor, or supplier, the total amount of civil penalties paid under subsection a. may not exceed the total amount of fees paid within any 1-year period (as determined by the Secretary) under the contract under which the violation occurs. ``(2) For purposes of this section, the term ``not-for-profit'' means that no part of the net earnings of the contractor, subcontractor, or supplier inures to the benefit of any natural person or for-profit artificial person.''. (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.--The amendments made by this section shall not apply to any violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) occurring under a contract entered into before the date of enactment of this section. ******************** Subtitle B--General Nuclear Matters SEC. 633. MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUCTION. Section 134 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2160d) is amended-- (1) in subsection a., by striking ``a. The Commission'' and inserting ``a. IN GENERAL.--Except as provided in subsection b., the Commission''; (2) by redesignating subsection b. as subsection c.; and (3) by inserting after subsection a. the following: ``b. MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUCTION.-- ``(1) DEFINITIONS.--In this subsection: ``(A) HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM.--The term `highly enriched uranium' means uranium enriched to include concentration of U-235 above 20 percent. ``(B) MEDICAL ISOTOPE.--The term `medical isotope' includes Molybdenum 99, Iodine 131, Xenon 133, and other radioactive materials used to produce a radiopharmaceutical for diagnostic, therapeutic procedures or for research and development. ``(C) RADIOPHARMACEUTICAL.--The term `radiopharmaceutical' means a radioactive isotope that-- ``(i) contains byproduct material combined with chemical or biological material; and ``(ii) is designed to accumulate temporarily in a part of the body for therapeutic purposes or for enabling the production of a useful image for use in a diagnosis of a medical condition. ``(D) RECIPIENT COUNTRY.--The term `recipient country' means Canada, Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. ``(2) LICENSES.--The Commission may issue a license authorizing the export (including shipment to and use at intermediate and ultimate consignees specified in the license) to a recipient country of highly enriched uranium for medical isotope production if, in addition to any other requirements of this Act (except subsection a.), the Commission determines that-- ``(A) a recipient country that supplies an assurance letter to the United States Government in connection with the consideration by the Commission of the export license application has informed the United States Government that any intermediate consignees and the ultimate consignee specified in the application are required to use the highly enriched uranium solely to produce medical isotopes; and ``(B) the highly enriched uranium for medical isotope production will be irradiated only in a reactor in a recipient country that-- ``(i) uses an alternative nuclear reactor fuel; or ``(ii) is the subject of an agreement with the United States Government to convert to an alternative nuclear reactor fuel when alternative nuclear reactor fuel can be used in the reactor. ``(3) REVIEW OF PHYSICAL PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS.-- ``(A) IN GENERAL.--The Commission shall review the adequacy of physical protection requirements that, as of the date of an application under paragraph (2), are applicable to the transportation and storage of highly enriched uranium for medical isotope production or control of residual material after irradiation and extraction of medical isotopes. ``(B) IMPOSITION OF ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.--If the Commission determines that additional physical protection requirements are necessary (including a limit on the quantity of highly enriched uranium that may be contained in a single shipment), the Commission shall impose such requirements as license conditions or through other appropriate means. ``(4) FIRST REPORT TO CONGRESS.-- ``(A) NAS STUDY.--The Secretary shall enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study to determine-- ``(i) the feasibility of procuring supplies of medical isotopes from commercial sources that do not use highly enriched uranium; ``(ii) the current and projected demand and availability of medical isotopes in regular current domestic use; ``(iii) the progress that is being made by the Department of Energy and others to eliminate all use of highly enriched uranium in reactor fuel, reactor targets, and medical isotope production facilities; and ``(iv) the potential cost differential in medical isotope production in the reactors and target processing facilities if the products were derived from production systems that do not involve fuels and targets with highly enriched uranium. ``(B) FEASIBILITY.--For the purpose of this subsection, the use of low enriched uranium to produce medical isotopes shall be determined to be feasible if-- ``(i) low enriched uranium targets have been developed and demonstrated for use in the reactors and target processing facilities that produce significant quantities of medical isotopes to serve United States needs for such isotopes; ``(ii) sufficient quantities of medical isotopes are available from low enriched uranium targets and fuel to meet United States domestic needs; and ``(iii) the average anticipated total cost increase from production of medical isotopes in such facilities without use of highly enriched uranium is less than 10 percent. ``(C) REPORT BY THE SECRETARY.--Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2003, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that-- ``(i) contains the findings of the National Academy of Sciences made in the study under subparagraph (A); and ``(ii) discloses the existence of any commitments from commercial producers to provide domestic requirements for medical isotopes without use of highly enriched uranium consistent with the feasibility criteria described in subparagraph (B) not later than the date that is 4 years after the date of submission of the report. ``(5) SECOND REPORT TO CONGRESS.--If the study of the National Academy of Sciences determines under paragraph (4)(A)(i) that the procurement of supplies of medical isotopes from commercial sources that do not use highly enriched uranium is feasible, but the Secretary is unable to report the existence of commitments under paragraph (4)(C)(ii), not later than the date that is 6 years after the date of enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2003, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that describes options for developing domestic supplies of medical isotopes in quantities that are adequate to meet domestic demand without the use of highly [Page: H11248]
enriched uranium consistent with the cost increase described in paragraph (4)(B)(iii). ``(6) CERTIFICATION.--At such time as commercial facilities that do not use highly enriched uranium are capable of meeting domestic requirements for medical isotopes, within the cost increase described in paragraph (4)(B)(iii) and without impairing the reliable supply of medical isotopes for domestic utilization, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a certification to that effect. ``(7) SUNSET PROVISION.--After the Secretary submits a certification under paragraph (6), the Commission shall, by rule, terminate its review of export license applications under this subsection.''. ******************** SEC. 635. SAFE DISPOSAL OF GREATER-THAN-CLASS C RADIOACTIVE WASTE. (a) DESIGNATION OF RESPONSIBILITY.--The Secretary of Energy shall designate an Office within the Department of Energy to have the responsibility for activities needed to develop a new, or use an existing, facility for safely disposing of all low-level radioactive waste with concentrations of radionuclides that exceed the limits established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for Class C radioactive waste (referred to in this section as ``GTCC waste''). (b) COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.--The Secretary of Energy shall develop a comprehensive plan for permanent disposal of GTCC waste which includes plans for a disposal facility. This plan shall be transmitted to Congress in a series of reports, including the following: (1) REPORT ON SHORT-TERM PLAN.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall submit to Congress a plan describing the Secretary's operational strategy for continued recovery and storage of GTCC waste until a permanent disposal facility is available. (2) UPDATE OF 1987 REPORT.-- (A) IN GENERAL.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall submit to Congress an update of the Secretary's February 1987 report submitted to Congress that made comprehensive recommendations for the disposal of GTCC waste. (B) CONTENTS.--The update under this paragraph shall contain-- (i) a detailed description and identification of the GTCC waste that is to be disposed; (ii) a description of current domestic and international programs, both Federal and commercial, for management and disposition of GTCC waste; (iii) an identification of the Federal and private options and costs for the safe disposal of GTCC waste; (iv) an identification of the options for ensuring that, wherever possible, generators and users of GTCC waste bear all reasonable costs of waste disposal; (v) an identification of any new statutory authority required for disposal of GTCC waste; and (vi) in coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an identification of any new regulatory guidance needed for the disposal of GTCC waste. (3) REPORT ON COST AND SCHEDULE FOR COMPLETION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT AND RECORD OF DECISION.--Not later than 180 days after the date of submission of the update required under paragraph (2), the Secretary of Energy shall submit to Congress a report containing an estimate of the cost and schedule to complete a draft and final environmental impact statement and to issue a record of decision for a permanent disposal facility, utilizing either a new or existing facility, for GTCC waste. SEC. 636. PROHIBITION ON NUCLEAR EXPORTS TO COUNTRIES THAT SPONSOR TERRORISM. (a) IN GENERAL.--Section 129 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2158) is amended-- (1) by inserting ``a.'' before ``No nuclear materials and equipment''; and (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection: ``b.(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including specifically section 121 of this Act, and except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), no nuclear materials and equipment or sensitive nuclear technology, including items and assistance authorized by section 57 b. of this Act and regulated under part 810 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, and nuclear-related items on the Commerce Control List maintained under part 774 of title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations, shall be exported or reexported, or transferred or retransferred whether directly or indirectly, and no Federal agency shall issue any license, approval, or authorization for the export or reexport, or transfer, or retransfer, whether directly or indirectly, of these items or assistance (as defined in this paragraph) to any country whose government has been identified by the Secretary of State as engaged in state sponsorship of terrorist activities (specifically including any country the government of which has been determined by the Secretary of State under section 620A(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371(a)), section 6(j)(1) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(j)(1)), or section 40(d) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2780(d)) to have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism). ``(2) This subsection shall not apply to exports, reexports, transfers, or retransfers of radiation monitoring technologies, surveillance equipment, seals, cameras, tamper-indication devices, nuclear detectors, monitoring systems, or equipment necessary to safely store, transport, or remove hazardous materials, whether such items, services, or information are regulated by the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, except to the extent that such technologies, equipment, seals, cameras, devices, detectors, or systems are available for use in the design or construction of nuclear reactors or nuclear weapons. ``(3) The President may waive the application of paragraph (1) to a country if the President determines and certifies to Congress that the waiver will not result in any increased risk that the country receiving the waiver will acquire nuclear weapons, nuclear reactors, or any materials or components of nuclear weapons and-- ``(A) the government of such country has not within the preceding 12-month period willfully aided or abetted the international proliferation of nuclear explosive devices to individuals or groups or willfully aided and abetted an individual or groups in acquiring unsafeguarded nuclear materials; ``(B) in the judgment of the President, the government of such country has provided adequate, verifiable assurances that it will cease its support for acts of international terrorism; ``(C) the waiver of that paragraph is in the vital national security interest of the United States; or ``(D) such a waiver is essential to prevent or respond to a serious radiological hazard in the country receiving the waiver that may or does threaten public health and safety.''. (b) APPLICABILITY TO EXPORTS APPROVED FOR TRANSFER BUT NOT TRANSFERRED.--Subsection b. of section 129 of Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as added by subsection (a) of this section, shall apply with respect to exports that have been approved for transfer as of the date of the enactment of this Act but have not yet been transferred as of that date. SEC. 637. URANIUM ENRICHMENT FACILITIES. (a) NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.-- (1) IN GENERAL.--In order to facilitate a timely review and approval of an application in a proceeding for a license for the construction and operation of a uranium enrichment facility under sections 53 and 63 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2073, 2093) (referred to in this subsection as a ``covered proceeding''), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall, not later than 30 days after the receipt of the application, establish, by order, the schedule for the conduct of any hearing that may be requested by any person whose interest may be affected by the covered proceeding. (2) FINAL AGENCY DECISION.--The schedule shall provide that a final decision by the Commission on the application shall be made not later than the date that is 2 years after the date of submission of the application by the applicant. (3) COMPLIANCE WITH SCHEDULE.-- (A) IN GENERAL.--The Commission shall establish a process to assess compliance with the schedule established under paragraph (1) on an ongoing basis during the course of the review of the application, including ensuring compliance with schedules and milestones that are established for the conduct of any covered proceeding by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board. (B) REPORT.--The Commission shall submit to Congress on a bimonthly basis a report describing the status of compliance with the schedule established under paragraph (1), including a description of the status of actions required to be completed pursuant to the schedule by officers and employees of-- (i) the Commission in undertaking the safety and environmental review of applications; and (ii) the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board in the conduct of any covered proceeding. (4) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.-- (A) IN GENERAL.--In evaluating an application under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for licensing of a facility in a covered proceeding, the Commission shall limit the consideration of need to whether the licensing of the facility would advance the national interest of encouraging in the United States-- (i) additional secure, reliable uranium enrichment capacity; (ii) diverse supplies and suppliers of uranium enrichment capacity; and (iii) the deployment of advanced centrifuge enrichment technology. (B) COMMENT.--In carrying out subparagraph (A), the Commission shall consider and solicit the views of other affected Federal agencies. (C) ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD.-- (i) IN GENERAL.--Except as provided in clause (ii), in any covered proceeding, the Commission shall allow the litigation and resolution by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board of issues arising under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), on the basis of information submitted by the applicant in its environmental report, prior to publication of any required environmental impact statement. [Page: H11249]
(ii) EXCEPTIONS.--On the publication of any required environmental impact statement, issues may be proffered for resolution by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board only if information or conclusions in the environmental impact statement differ significantly from the information or conclusions in the environmental report submitted by the applicant. (D) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.--In a covered proceeding, the Commission shall apply the criteria in Appendix C of the final report entitled ``Environmental Review Guidance for Licensing Actions Associated with NMSS Programs'' (NUREG-1748), published in August 2003, in any required review of environmental justice. (5) LOW-LEVEL WASTE.--In any covered proceeding, the Commission shall-- (A) deem the obligation of the Secretary of Energy pursuant to section 3113 of the USEC Privitization Act (42 U.S.C. 2297 h-11) to constitute a plausible strategy with regard to the disposition of depleted uranium generated by such facility; and (B) treat any residual material that remains following the extraction of any usable resource value from depleted uranium as low-level radioactive waste under part 61 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations. (6) ADJUDICATORY HEARING ON LICENSING OF URANIUM ENRICHMENT FACILITIES.--Section 193(b) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2243(b)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: ``(2) TIMING.--On the issuance of a final decision on the application by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, the Commission shall issue and make immediately effective any license for the construction and operation of a uranium enrichment facility under sections 53 and 63, on a determination by the Commission that the issuance of the license would not cause irreparable injury to the public health and safety or the common defense and security, notwithstanding the pendency before the Commission of any appeal or petition for review of any decision of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.''. (b) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY RESPONSIBILITIES.-- (1) IN GENERAL.--Not later than 180 days after a request is made to the Secretary of Energy by an applicant for or recipient of a license for a uranium enrichment facility under section 53, 63, or 193 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 ((42 U.S.C. 2073, 2093, 2243), the Secretary shall enter into a memorandum of agreement with the applicant or licensee that provides a schedule for the transfer to the Secretary, not later than 5 years after the generation of any depleted uranium hexafluoride, of title and possession of the depleted uranium hexafluoride to be generated by the applicant or licensee. (2) COST.-- (A) IN GENERAL.--Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), the memorandum of agreement shall specify the cost to be assessed by the Secretary for the transfer to the Secretary of the depleted uranium hexafluoride. (B) NONDISCRIMINATORY BASIS.--The cost shall be determined by the Secretary on a nondiscriminatory basis. (C) COST.--Taking into account the physical and chemical characteristics of such depleted uranium hexafluoride, the cost shall not exceed the cost assessed by the Secretary for the acceptance of depleted uranium hexafluoride under-- (i) the memorandum of agreement between the United States Department of Energy and the United States Enrichment Corporation Relating to Depleted Uranium, dated June 30, 1998; and (ii) the Agreement Between the U.S. Department of Energy and USEC Inc., dated June 17, 2002. SEC. 638. NATIONAL URANIUM STOCKPILE. (a) STOCKPILE CREATION.--The Secretary of Energy may create a national low-enriched uranium stockpile with the goals to-- (1) enhance national energy security; and (2) reduce global proliferation threats. (b) SOURCE OF MATERIAL.--The Secretary shall obtain material for the stockpile from-- (1) material derived from blend-down of Russian highly enriched uranium derived from weapons materials; and (2) domestically mined and enriched uranium. (c) LIMITATION ON SALES OR TRANSFERS.--Sales or transfer of materials in the stockpile shall occur pursuant to section 3112 of the USEC Privitization Act (42 U.S.C. 2297h-10), as amended by section 630 of this Act. ********************
Subtitle D--Nuclear Security SEC. 661. NUCLEAR FACILITY THREATS. (a) STUDY.--The President, in consultation with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (referred to in this subtitle as the ``Commission'') and other appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies and private entities, shall conduct a study to identify the types of threats that pose an appreciable risk to the security of the various classes of facilities licensed by the Commission under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.). Such study shall take into account, but not be limited to-- (1) the events of September 11, 2001; (2) an assessment of physical, cyber, biochemical, and other terrorist threats; (3) the potential for attack on facilities by multiple coordinated teams of a large number of individuals; (4) the potential for assistance in an attack from several persons employed at the facility; (5) the potential for suicide attacks; (6) the potential for water-based and air-based threats; (7) the potential use of explosive devices of considerable size and other modern weaponry; (8) the potential for attacks by persons with a sophisticated knowledge of facility operations; (9) the potential for fires, especially fires of long duration; (10) the potential for attacks on spent fuel shipments by multiple coordinated teams of a large number of individuals; (11) the adequacy of planning to protect the public health and safety at and around nuclear facilities, as appropriate, in the event of a terrorist attack against a nuclear facility; and (12) the potential for theft and diversion of nuclear materials from such facilities. (b) SUMMARY AND CLASSIFICATION REPORT.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to Congress and the Commission a report-- (1) summarizing the types of threats identified under subsection (a); and (2) classifying each type of threat identified under subsection (a), in accordance with existing laws and regulations, as either-- (A) involving attacks and destructive acts, including sabotage, directed against the facility by an enemy of the United States, whether a foreign government or other person, or otherwise falling under the responsibilities of the Federal Government; or (B) involving the type of risks that Commission licensees should be responsible for guarding against. (c) FEDERAL ACTION REPORT.--Not later than 90 days after the date on which a report is transmitted under subsection (b), the President shall transmit to Congress a report on actions taken, or to be taken, to address the types of threats identified under subsection (b)(2)(A), including identification of the Federal, State, and local agencies responsible for carrying out the obligations and authorities of the United States. Such report may include a classified annex, as appropriate. (d) REGULATIONS.--Not later than 180 days after the date on which a report is transmitted under subsection (b), the Commission may revise, by rule, the design basis threats issued before the date of enactment of this section as the Commission considers appropriate based on the summary and classification report. (e) PHYSICAL SECURITY PROGRAM.--The Commission shall establish an operational safeguards response evaluation program that ensures that the physical protection capability and operational safeguards response for sensitive nuclear facilities, as determined by the Commission consistent with the protection of public health and the common defense and security, shall be tested periodically through Commission approved or designed, observed, and evaluated force-on-force exercises to determine whether the ability to defeat the design basis threat is being maintained. For purposes of this subsection, the term ``sensitive nuclear facilities'' includes at a minimum commercial nuclear power plants and category I fuel cycle facilities. (f) CONTROL OF INFORMATION.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Commission may undertake any rulemaking under this subtitle in a manner that will fully protect safeguards and classified national security information. (g) FEDERAL SECURITY COORDINATORS.-- (1) REGIONAL OFFICES.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall assign a Federal security coordinator, under the employment of the Commission, to each region of the Commission. (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.--The Federal security coordinator shall be responsible for-- (A) communicating with the Commission and other Federal, State, and local authorities concerning threats, including threats against such classes of facilities as the Commission determines to be appropriate; (B) ensuring that such classes of facilities as the Commission determines to be appropriate maintain security consistent with the security plan in accordance with the appropriate threat level; and (C) assisting in the coordination of security measures among the private security forces at such classes of facilities as the Commission determines to be appropriate and Federal, State, and local authorities, as appropriate. (h) TRAINING PROGRAM.--The President shall establish a program to provide technical assistance and training to Federal agencies, the National Guard, and State and local law enforcement and emergency response agencies in responding to threats against a designated nuclear facility. SEC. 662. FINGERPRINTING FOR CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD CHECKS. (a) IN GENERAL.--Subsection a. of section 149 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2169(a)) is amended-- (1) by striking ``a. The Nuclear'' and all that follows through ``section 147.'' and inserting the following: ``a. IN GENERAL.-- ``(1) REQUIREMENTS.-- ``(A) IN GENERAL.-- The Commission shall require each individual or entity-- ``(i) that is licensed or certified to engage in an activity subject to regulation by the Commission; ``(ii) that has filed an application for a license or certificate to engage in an activity subject to regulation by the Commission; or ``(iii) that has notified the Commission, in writing, of an intent to file an application for licensing, certification, permitting, or approval of a product or activity subject to regulation by the Commission, to fingerprint each individual described in subparagraph (B) before the individual is permitted unescorted access or access, whichever is applicable, as described in subparagraph (B). ``(B) INDIVIDUALS REQUIRED TO BE FINGERPRINTED.--The Commission shall require to be fingerprinted each individual who-- ``(i) is permitted unescorted access to-- ``(I) a utilization facility; or ``(II) radioactive material or other property subject to regulation by the Commission that the Commission determines to be of such significance to the public health and safety or the common defense and security as to warrant fingerprinting and background checks; or ``(ii) is permitted access to safeguards information under section 147.''; (2) by striking ``All fingerprints obtained by a licensee or applicant as required in the preceding sentence'' and inserting the following: ``(2) SUBMISSION TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.--All fingerprints obtained by an individual or entity as required in paragraph (1)''; (3) by striking ``The costs of any identification and records check conducted pursuant to the preceding sentence shall be paid by the licensee or applicant.'' and inserting the following: ``(3) COSTS.--The costs of any identification and records check conducted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be paid by the individual or entity required to conduct the fingerprinting under paragraph (1)(A).''; and (4) by striking ``Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Attorney General may provide all the results of the search to the Commission, and, in accordance with regulations prescribed under this section, the Commission may provide such results to licensee or applicant submitting such fingerprints.'' and inserting the following: ``(4) PROVISION TO INDIVIDUAL OR ENTITY REQUIRED TO CONDUCT FINGERPRINTING.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Attorney General may provide all the results of the search to the Commission, and, in accordance with regulations prescribed under this section, the Commission may provide such results to the individual or entity required to conduct the fingerprinting under paragraph (1)(A).''. (b) ADMINISTRATION--Subsection c. of section 149 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2169(c)) is amended-- (1) by striking ``, subject to public notice and comment, regulations--'' and inserting ``requirements--''; and (2) by striking, in paragraph (2)(B), ``unescorted access to the facility of a licensee or applicant'' and inserting ``unescorted access to a utilization facility, radioactive material, or other property described in subsection a.(1)(B)''. (c) BIOMETRIC METHODS.--Subsection d. of section 149 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2169(d)) is redesignated as subsection e., and the following is inserted after subsection c.: ``d. USE OF OTHER BIOMETRIC METHODS.--The Commission may satisfy any requirement for a person to conduct fingerprinting under this section using any other biometric method for identification approved for use by the Attorney General, after the Commission has approved the alternative method by rule.''. SEC. 663. USE OF FIREARMS BY SECURITY PERSONNEL OF LICENSEES AND CERTIFICATE HOLDERS OF THE COMMISSION. Section 161 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2201) is amended by adding at the end the following subsection: ``(z)(1) notwithstanding section 922(o), (v), and (w) of title 18, United States Code, or any similar provision of any State law or any similar rule or regulation of a State or any political subdivision of a State prohibiting the transfer or possession of a handgun, a rifle or shotgun, a short-barreled shotgun, a short-barreled rifle, a machinegun, a semiautomatic assault weapon, ammunition for the foregoing, or a large capacity ammunition feeding device, authorize security personnel of licensees and certificate holders of the Commission (including employees of contractors of licensees and certificate holders) to receive, possess, transport, import, and use 1 or more of those weapons, ammunition, or devices, if the Commission determines that-- ``(A) such authorization is necessary to the discharge of the security personnel's official duties; and ``(B) the security personnel-- ``(i) are not otherwise prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under Federal or State laws pertaining to possession of firearms by certain categories of persons; ``(ii) have successfully completed requirements established through guidelines implementing this subsection for training in use of firearms and tactical maneuvers; ``(iii) are engaged in the protection of-- ``(I) facilities owned or operated by a Commission licensee or certificate holder that are designated by the Commission; or ``(II) radioactive material or other property owned or possessed by a person that is a licensee or certificate holder of the Commission, [Page: H11251]
or that is being transported to or from a facility owned or operated by such a licensee or certificate holder, and that has been determined by the Commission to be of significance to the common defense and security or public health and safety; and ``(iv) are discharging their official duties. ``(2) Such receipt, possession, transportation, importation, or use shall be subject to-- ``(A) chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, except for section 922(a)(4), (o), (v), and (w); ``(B) chapter 53 of title 26, United States Code, except for section 5844; and ``(C) a background check by the Attorney General, based on fingerprints and including a check of the system established under section 103(b) of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (18 U.S.C. 922 note) to determine whether the person applying for the authority is prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under Federal or State law. ``(3) This subsection shall become effective upon the issuance of guidelines by the Commission, with the approval of the Attorney General, to govern the implementation of this subsection. ``(4) In this subsection, the terms ``handgun'', ``rifle'', ``shotgun'', ``firearm'', ``ammunition'', ``machinegun'', ``semiautomatic assault weapon'', ``large capacity ammunition feeding device'', ``short-barreled shotgun'', and ``short-barreled rifle'' shall have the meanings given those terms in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code.''. SEC. 664. UNAUTHORIZED INTRODUCTION OF DANGEROUS WEAPONS. Section 229 a. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2278a(a)) is amended in the first sentence by inserting ``or subject to the licensing authority of the Commission or to certification by the Commission under this Act or any other Act'' before the period at the end. SEC. 665. SABOTAGE OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES OR FUEL. (a) IN GENERAL.--Section 236 a. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2284(a)) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``storage facility'' and inserting ``storage, treatment, or disposal facility''; (2) in paragraph (3)-- (A) by striking ``such a utilization facility'' and inserting ``a utilization facility licensed under this Act''; and (B) by striking ``or'' at the end; (3) in paragraph (4)-- (A) by striking ``facility licensed'' and inserting ``, uranium conversion, or nuclear fuel fabrication facility licensed or certified''; and (B) by striking the comma at the end and inserting a semicolon; and (4) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following: ``(5) any production, utilization, waste storage, waste treatment, waste disposal, uranium enrichment, uranium conversion, or nuclear fuel fabrication facility subject to licensing or certification under this Act during construction of the facility, if the destruction or damage caused or attempted to be caused could adversely affect public health and safety during the operation of the facility; ``(6) any primary facility or backup facility from which a radiological emergency preparedness alert and warning system is activated; or ``(7) any radioactive material or other property subject to regulation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that, before the date of the offense, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission determines, by order or regulation published in the Federal Register, is of significance to the public health and safety or to common defense and security,''. (b) PENALTIES.--Section 236 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2284) is amended by striking ``$10,000 or imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both, and, if death results to any person, shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life'' both places it appears and inserting ``$1,000,000 or imprisoned for up to life without parole''. SEC. 666. SECURE TRANSFER OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS. (a) AMENDMENT.--Chapter 14 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2201-2210b) is amended by adding at the end the following new section: ``SEC. 170C. SECURE TRANSFER OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS. ``a. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall establish a system to ensure that materials described in subsection b., when transferred or received in the United States by any party pursuant to an import or export license issued pursuant to this Act, are accompanied by a manifest describing the type and amount of materials being transferred or received. Each individual receiving or accompanying the transfer of such materials shall be subject to a security background check conducted by appropriate Federal entities. ``b. Except as otherwise provided by the Commission by regulation, the materials referred to in subsection a. are byproduct materials, source materials, special nuclear materials, high-level radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, transuranic waste, and low-level radioactive waste (as defined in section 2(16) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101(16))).''. (b) REGULATIONS.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and from time to time thereafter as it considers necessary, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall issue regulations identifying radioactive materials or classes of individuals that, consistent with the protection of public health and safety and the common defense and security, are appropriate exceptions to the requirements of section 170C of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as added by subsection (a) of this section. (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect upon the issuance of regulations under subsection (b), except that the background check requirement shall become effective on a date established by the Commission. (d) EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.--Nothing in this section or the amendment made by this section shall waive, modify, or affect the application of chapter 51 of title 49, United States Code, part A of subtitle V of title 49, United States Code, part B of subtitle VI of title 49, United States Code, and title 23, United States Code. (e) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.--The table of sections for chapter 14 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 is amended by adding at the end the following new item: ``Sec. 170C. Secure transfer of nuclear materials.''. SEC. 667. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY CONSULTATION. Before issuing a license for a utilization facility, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall consult with the Department of Homeland Security concerning the potential vulnerabilities of the location of the proposed facility to terrorist attack. SEC. 668. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. (a) IN GENERAL.--There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle. (b) AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF CHARGES.--Section 6101(c)(2)(A) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 2214(c)(2)(A)) is amended-- (1) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' at the end; (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and'' and (3) by adding at the end the following: ``(iii) amounts appropriated to the Commission for homeland security activities of the Commission for the fiscal year, except for the costs of fingerprinting and background checks required by section 149 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2169) and the costs of conducting security inspections.''.
1B) Energy and Water Development Appropriations, H.R. 2754 - Excerpted Floor Debate Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this is a bill that has a conference agreement of $27.3 billion. This is a good bill. We worked very hard on it, and we have had a very tough conference; and I hope everybody will vote for the bill. At this time I would like to make a few remarks concerning the committee staff on both sides. We worked together very diligently to prepare this bill and this conference report. I guess this is my second time to conference the bill, but my first time to be involved in the writing of the bill, which is a rather unusual circumstance. During that period of time, and for the last number of years, our clerk has had different people being the chairman. And I do not know whether it is because I became the chairman that he is leaving or not. He has had a different chairman about the last five times, and so I said I was going to stay awhile, and then suddenly I heard he was going to retire. So I hope it is not because of the conference we have had that he is leaving, because he has done a great job. He has been 15 years here in this committee. He likes apparently the challenge of breaking in a new chairman, but I am not sure that he likes the continuation of that. But he will have to speak afterwards about that. I really want to thank him because he has been a great help to me and a great help to the staff as we have worked on this bill. He was dubbed ``Silent Bob'' in one of the reports that was out, I think it was in one of what we call local political rags here around Washington. While most people might say he is silent, I can tell you when he is in the room and Silent Bob speaks, we all listen. He has done a great job for this committee. He has been a great resource to me and to the committee over these years. So I want to thank him, and I hope he can go out and work on his golf game because he tells me his game is about as bad as mine, and that is really bad. So now he will have plenty of time to learn how to play golf better and also to probably earn a lot more money, as he can come back and lobby us about a lot of issues because he is a real authority, especially on the water part of this bill. So, again, thanks to you, Bob, for being the clerk for all these years and for leading us during this period of time. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the RECORD a document detailing the specifics of this appropriation bill.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present to the House today the conference report on H.R. 2754, the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2004. We had a challenging conference with the Senate this year, but we were able to resolve our differences and reach a fair compromise. Most importantly, I believe we did the right thing for the Nation in this conference report in a number of important areas, from rebuilding our water infrastructure, to dealing with the disposal of spent nuclear fuel, to advancing the frontiers of our scientific knowledge. The total amount of funding included in the conference agreement is $27.3 billion. This represents an increase of $1.1 billion over the current fiscal year and approximately $380 million over the budget request. Title I of this conference report provides funding for the Civil Works program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and for the Corps' Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program. The conference agreement provides the Corps with $4.6 billion, slightly below the current year but nearly $400 million over the inadequate budget request. The Administration does not seem to comprehend that underfunding the Corps of Engineers ultimately costs the country more in the long run, as projects that are strung out over multiple years always cost more than they would if constructed on an efficient schedule. I have already initiated a dialog with the Administration in an attempt to convince them of the need to increase funding to support the Civil Works program of the Corps of Engineers in future fiscal years. In fiscal year 2004, we opted to focus our available resources on completing ongoing projects, and therefore limited the number of new starts in this conference agreement. Funding for Title II of the bill, which includes the Central Utah Project Completion Account and the programs of the Bureau of Reclamation, is $986.5 million, $14 million above the amount appropriated last year and $64 million above the budget request. The Committee did not provide the $15 million requested by the Administration for the CALFED Bay-Delta program. The authorization for this program expired in fiscal year 2000 and it has not been reauthorized. Total funding for Title III, the Department of Energy is $22 billion, $1.2 billion above fiscal year 2003 and $120 million below the budget request. In many ways, I am most proud of our accomplishments in this part of the conference agreement. My top priority in the Energy and Water bill this year was to provide sufficient funding for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, and I believe we succeeded. This conference agreement provides a total of $580 million for Yucca Mountain, only $11 million below the request but an increase of $123 million compared to the current fiscal year. This project has been significantly underfunded in prior years, and we are finally starting to reverse that trend. Mr. Speaker, it is essential that we keep the Department of Energy on schedule to submit the repository license application late next year and to begin repository operations in 2010. The Yucca Mountain repository is essential for both energy security and homeland security. We have provided the necessary funding in this conference agreement, and I have the commitment of the Secretary of Energy to move forward aggressively on the repository program during this coming fiscal year. Another priority of mine, and of many other Members in this chamber, is the subject of advanced scientific computing. By a number of key measures of computing power, the United States is now in second place behind Japan. For the sake of our scientific leadership, of our national security, and for economic competitiveness, we cannot afford to stay in second place for very long. We have provided an additional $30 million for the Department of Energy to procure additional state-of-the-art computers in the near term and to begin an interagency effort to develop next-generation computer architectures. Another area where there is significant Member interest in this conference agreement is the portion of DOE's budget that deals with several new nuclear weapons initiatives proposed by the Administration. I strongly believe that we need to take a hard look at our existing Cold War nuclear arsenal before we start down the path of designing new weapons and new weapons infrastructure. As President Bush said when he announced reductions to the nuclear stockpile on November 13, 2001, ``The United States and Russia have overcome the legacy of the Cold War.'' At that time, he pledged that the United States would reduce our stockpile to 1,700 to 2,200 operationally deployed warheads over the next ten years. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for the Department to Defense, and the Department of energy, to deliver a revised nuclear stockpile plan that reflects the President's commitment of two years ago. It is time for DOD and DOE to take a hard look at our nuclear weapon stockpile and on the infrastructure we are maintaining to support that stockpile. Mr. Speaker, the funding provided in this conference agreement maintains our strong support for DOE's nonproliferation programs in Russia and other countries. This agreement also makes a key change in DOE's contracting culture, as we require the competition of five laboratory contracts that we awarded without competition back in the 1940s and have never been competed since. Most Members are shocked to learn we have contracts that have never been competed in the past half century. We are fixing that situation. Funding for Title IV, Independent Agencies, is $229.3 million, an increase of $22.6 million from last year and $81.4 million above the budget request. We have funded the Appalachian Regional Commission at $66 million, $33 million above the request, in recognition of the strong interest in this chamber and in the Senate in the work of the ARC. I want to thank my Senate counterpart, Chairman PETE DOMENICI, and his Ranking Minority Member, Senator HARRY REID, for their [Page: H11397]
hard work during this conference. They may view me as a relatively junior Member by Senate standards, but rest assured, Mr. Speaker, that I fought long and hard to defend the House priorities during this conference. My Ranking Member, the Honorable PETE VISCLOSKY, was at my side during this process, and I truly value his support and advice. Mr. Speaker, before I conclude I would also like to thank the staff for their help in getting me up to speed on the complex issues we have in this bill. The Subcommittee staff includes Bob Schmidt, Kevin Cook, Dennis Kern, Scott Burnison, Tracy LaTurner, and our detailee from the Corps of Engineers, Robert Pace. I also want to thank Kenny Draft of my staff, and Dixon Butler and Peder Maarbjerg of the minority staff. I urge the unanimous support of the house for adoption of this conference report. I would hope we could quickly conclude action on this conference report so that we can get this bill to the White House for signature. ******************** Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I first of all want to as, I always do on these occasions, thank the staff because in the end they are the ones who have done the very hard work. I want to thank Kevin Cook, I want to thank Scott Burnison, I want to thank Dennis Kern, Tracey La Turner, Rob Pace, Kenny Kraft, Rob Nabors, Dixon Butler, Peder Maarbjerg, Leslie Phillips, and I would also like to add my voice of thanks to Bob Schmidt. Bob has done an incredible job as a staff member of the Committee on Appropriations. As a former staffer myself, I truly appreciate the work everyone has done on this bill, and in this case particularly the work of Bob. It is no surprise to me the quality of work he has done since he is a graduate of the University of the Notre Dame. The second set of thank you's goes to the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman HOBSON). The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson) and I serve together on the Subcommittee on Defense. As mentioned, this is his first full round with the energy and water bill, and he has done an exceptional job. He has been completely bipartisan. He has been a gentleman. He has made decisions. Our Department of Energy and our energy policy in the United States of America is better off because of the work the gentleman has done on this bill. I have now served with five chairmen; they have all been very able. They have all done very good work; this is the best bill which has been brought to the floor while I have been a ranking member. Mr. Speaker, on the substance of the bill, I would want to simply say that I think the committee has done a very good job on the nuclear weapons program. On the issue of water infrastructure, we have done our very best. We have added $377 million, and put back into the process 80 programs that were eliminated by the administration under budget requests. Any failings here are not because of lack of effort by the committee.
Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank the staff that worked to put this bill together, Bob Schmidt, Kevin Cook, Scott Burnison, Dennis Kern, Tracey La Turner, Rob Pace, Kenny Kraft, Peder Maarbjerg, Leslie Phillips, Rob Nabors, and Dixon Butler, all put in countless hours to produce this fine product. I would also like to thank my Chairman, Chairman HOBSON, who guided the House priorities through a very tough Conference, and led us to produce a very good bill. He has been one of the best Chairmen I have ever work with, and I look forward to working with him in future years. Now, no bill is perfect Mr. Speaker, but this bill was a product of a truly bipartisan effort. Mark Twain once said that ``Common Sense is not that Common'' but this Conference Report advances some very common sense ideas, and though I don't want to take up much time, I would be remiss if I did not mention a few. In the area of Nuclear Weapons, this Conference Report directs the Dept. of Energy to focus on management of our aging weapons stockpile before moving forward with new concepts and designs. The Report fenced two-thirds of the money going to Advanced Concepts, or weapons research, until DOE produces a Nuclear Weapons Stockpile plan. This plan is needed to better deal with our aging war-heads and to dispose of many of those systems. Due to advances in technology many warheads are no longer practical or feasible with current Department of Defense technology and strategies. In addition, the Conference Report, funds the Modern Pit Facility program and the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) or Bunker Buster at, $10M and $7.5M respectively, half of the President's and Senate's Requests in both cases. This is because we should not be looking forward to new weapons until we have a solid plan for the weapons and technology we already have. Mr. Speaker, we should be especially wary of the nuclear waste stored in many sites across this country in this unfortunate time of terrorist threats. The compromise we came to with the other body, funded the Yucca Mountain Repository at it's highest level ever, $580M, and fully supports the submission of the December 2004 license application. I appreciate the Chairman's leadership on this issue. Finally, Mr. Speaker our funding for the Corps of Engineers was the best that we could do within the money provided. Many important projects could not be fully funded, completed, or started. This under-funding was not the fault of the Chairman or this committee, which funded the Corps approximately $377 million over the President's Request and restored approximately 80 ongoing studies that the Administration did not include in their budget. Unfortunately, this Administration, and previous Administrations, in a bipartisan failure, have not made the infrastructure of this country a priority. Currently, the Corps O&M program reflects a high priority backlog of $1 billion and an additional $1.9 billion in unfunded work. Though the conference report added $29 million to the President's request, we are still behind. For on going construction, the backlog was $44 Billion for FY 2002 and $45 billion in FY 2003. The Conference Report added $372 million to the President's request of $1.35 billion to help this situation; this is just a drop in the bucket, and I suspect this backlog will continue to grow in FY 2004. We need to invest in our future, by creating jobs, advancing the efficiency of commerce and transportation, while improving the environmental outlook and quality of life for people in this country. This can all be done through better investment in our domestic infrastructure. ******************** Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to two provisions in this energy and water conference report. First, this bill provides $7.5 million for study of a new-generation, earth-penetrating nuclear warhead and $6 million for research on advanced nuclear weapons concepts such as low-yield mini nukes. Supporters of these new nuclear weapons argue the current funding is limited to weapons research and development in DOE labs, but this argument ignores the obvious end results of these studies, and that is that they will have to be tested. These weapons will be tested most likely at the Nevada test site. That will once again expose Utah and the rest of this Nation to fallout from those tests. High-yield weapons present an additional problem, unacceptable amounts of fallout would endanger U.S. troops approaching the target to confirm the weapons' success. No one is going to argue about pursuing new technologies to address the threats posed by terrorists hiding in hardened or deeply-buried sites, but we should ask and answer this question about whether nuclear weapons, regardless of yield, can even get the job done. I oppose this bill that would once again move toward exposing Utahans to nuclear testing in Nevada. That brings me to a second point I also raise in opposition to the bill, and that is there is a provision that would reclassify radioactive waste from two Department of Energy sites as a type of waste that can be shipped to commercial facility. This language was included in the conference report without the knowledge of States like Utah that had commercial facilities where the DOE has suggested shipping such highly-concentrated radioactive waste. This waste has much higher radioactive levels than other radioactive waste that commercial facilities are currently regulated to accept under this classification. This is unacceptable to Utah, and I am fundamentally opposed to language that makes Utah into a dumping ground not only for waste from Ohio and New York, but waste from other east coast States as well. Some Members argue this waste is not that bad. Mr. Speaker, if the waste is not that bad, then Ohio and New York should not be in such a rush to get rid of it. Utah has a history on this issue, a history of being downwinders. My family comes from southern Utah. I would not put Utah into a back seat to anyone when it comes to their patriotism and commitment to this country, but we need to make sure when we move ahead and potentially expose our citizens to radiation, that we make sure we make these decisions in the clear light of day, and we look out for the health and safety of all Americans. ******************** Mrs. TAUSCHER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Hobson and Ranking Member Visclosky for their hard work in producing an Energy and Water Appropriations bill that funds a number of important programs This legislation includes significant increases over the President's request for Basic Energy Research and for Energy Supply programs. Sadly, this bill also marks a watershed in U.S. nuclear policy that will have dire consequences for us and for our children. Indeed, by funding research on adapting nuclear weapons for new uses against hard and deeply buried targets and funding work on new low yield nukes, Congress has given its stamp of approval to a persistent effort by this administration to put the United States back in the business of making nuclear weapons. The funding of these two initiatives has been the culmination of the work of nuclear hawks in the administration who had produced a Nuclear Posture Review in December of 2001 that places a strong emphasis on the use of nuclear weapons for both offensive and defensive purposes and a misguided National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction in December 2002 that outlines new scenarios when the United States would consider using nuclear weapons. The development not only marks a new chapter in American national security policy that directly invites a nuclear arms race with any power that wishes to compete, but also a shameful moment for Congress when elected officials have been too willing to embrace a new weapons program without challenging what have been very lightweight justifications. Mr. Speaker, nuclear weapons will remain a crucial part of America's arsenal for the foreseeable future. They provide a hedge against potentially hostile nuclear powers and underpin security commitments to our allies. But today, the United States is addressing the threat of weapons of mass destruction from Iran, North Korea, India, Pakistan and a growing list of counties. The Director of the CIA, George Tenet, warned last February that the ``desire for nuclear weapons is on the upsurge ``among small countries'' and that ``we have entered a new world of proliferation.'' Even Russia, our former Cold War rival whom we fought in a conflict that almost brought the world to the brink of annihilation, on noting the administration's current intent to pursue a new generation of nuclear weapons, has responded by making plans to strengthen its nuclear deterrent by modernizing delivery vehicles and keeping a number of heavy ballistic missiles previously slated for dismantlement. Instead of working to build an equitable global regime that actively devalues nuclear weapons and creates incentives for their elimination, the administration would rather develop new battlefield nuclear capabilities, leading us into a world where nuclear weapons are seen as legitimate alternatives for all nations and the taboo on their use is severely eroded. The administration's intent to develop a new generation of nuclear weapons of any size makes a mockery of the President's claim that the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT) he signed with Russian President Putin marked the true end of the Cold War. Indeed, if you combine the repeal of the ban on development of low yield nuclear weapons contained in the Defense Authorization Bill with the funding of these same weapons in this bill and the flexibility in the SORT which allows both Russia and the United States too keep all their weapons rather than dismantle them, we actually have the makings of a nuclear arms buildup in this country for the first time since the end of the Cold War. While this bill cuts funds in half for the Robust Earth Penetrator and ties $4 million of the $6 million requested for advanced concepts to an important reporting requirement, there is no such thing as opening Pandora's box part way. With this bill, the United States has crossed a major threshold and entered a new nuclear era. By approving the administration's request for plans to develop a new generation of nuclear weapons, Congress has failed the American people by adopting policies that potentially make the United States less secure. The justifications the administration offered for its nuclear agenda--the need to maintain the knowledge of our nuclear designers and the need to strengthen our nulcear deterrent by developing more usable nuclear weapons--were paper thin. [Page: H11403]
The first justification deserves little comment. The argument that Congress needs to create a jobs program for scientists to help hone their skills doesn't hold water. Second, the proposition that nuclear weapons can somehow be engineered to be smarter and cause less collateral damage is simply false. Nuclear weapons will never surgically destroy hardened targets. They offer no guarantee of destroying chemical and biological agents without releasing them into the atmosphere. Detonated in an urban area, even a 1-kiloton nuclear bomb with a yield much lower than the nuclear warheads under consideration for an RNEP would kill tens of thousands of civilians and hinder friendly troops. Our warfighters do not have a military requirement for new nuclear weapons, and we have not exhausted research on conventional alternatives. I am deeply concerned that by preaching the rhetoric of disarmament and nonproliferation, and on the other hand, developing a new generation of weapons of mass destruction, we are making the world a more dangerous place. Perhaps the most alarming thing this Congress has done is to trivialize nuclear weapons and their destructive power. The prohibition on low yield weapons not only was necessary, it reinforced the notion that nuclear weapons should always be considered the most destructive weapons known to man. By lifting the ban on research and funding their development in this bill, it is much easier to believe that they are just like any other usable weapons system, rather than a horrific weapon of last resort. The American people are poorly served when the executive branch does not engage them on policies that may have catastrophic consequences for them in the future and when their elected officials are reluctant to ask the hard questions or thoroughly review the administration's national security propositions. I am going to vote for this bill because it contains a number of important provisions for our economy. It will be up to this Congress and subsequent Congresses however, to ensure that the administration's quest for new and more usable nuclear capabilities does not take us closer to the day when we decide to use them again. We did not heed the protests of the current mayor of the city of Hiroshima who wrote the President on the anniversary of the bombing of his city this summer that ``this clear indication that the United States intends to develop small nuclear weapons raises the horrifying specter that nuclear weapons will actually be used'' and represents a ``frontal attack on the process of nuclear disarmament.'' If today we are unwilling to listen to those who have the only expe |