Two bipartisan pieces of legislation modernizing America's nuclear future have recently become law. The Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA) directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to make regulations move more quickly with respect to new nuclear reactors and to establish a better and faster licensing structure for advanced nuclear reactors. It was signed by the President and became law last week on January 14th. The 361 to 10 vote to approve in the House indicated a pretty high level of bipartisanship, as did the unanimous consent with a voice vote in the Senate. NEIMA also imposes a cap on the NRC's annual fees for existing reactors, with adjustments for inflation, to ensure the operating fleet is not unjustly impacted as reactors go offline. The other law is the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act (NEICA) that became law last September. NEICA updates the mission and objectives of the Department of Energy's civilian nuclear energy programs, particularly supporting the deployment of advanced reactors and developing a reactor-based fast neutron source for the testing of advanced reactor fuels and materials.
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