Yet the United States remains heavily reliant on Russia for uranium, the main fuel used by nuclear power plants – yet another conundrum facing lawmakers as they seek to combat climate change while curbing U.S. dependence on foreign adversaries.
Congress took swift action to ban Russian oil and gas imports a month after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But blocking uranium imports has taken much longer, in part because Russia supplies more than 20 percent of U.S. nuclear fuel.
Today, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security will mark up three bills, including the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act.
- The legislation would “prohibit the importation into the United States of unirradiated low-enriched uranium that is produced in the Russian Federation.”
- The measure also would authorize the Energy Department to issue waivers for utilities that would have to shut down nuclear reactors if Russian supplies were immediately cut off. The waivers would allow these utilities to continue importing limited quantities of Russian uranium up until 2028.
- The bill was introduced by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), who chairs the full committee, and Rep. Robert E. Latta (R-Ohio), chair of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
- McMorris Rodgers told The Climate 202 yesterday that she is “hopeful” the bill will eventually pass the House, adding that she is “working to build support” among committee members.
“We voted to ban [Russian] oil and natural gas last year, and I believe it’s important that we do this,” McMorris Rodgers said. “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin is using energy as a weapon, and we have a lot of infrastructure and supply here. And this is an important signal to investors that America wants to lead in nuclear energy.”