Defending Against Rosatom Exports Act
Latest action. Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdictionA court's legal authority to hear a case: over the subject matter, the parties, and the territory.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) of the committee concerned.
Defending Against Rosatom Exports Act
This bill extends limits on the importation of Russian low-enriched uranium, a fuel for nuclear reactors, and contains other related provisions. (These limits stem from a 1992 agreement with Russia to end a Department of Commerce antidumping investigation into Russian uranium imports.)
The bill extends these limits, which are currently set to expire in 2020, to 2035. The bill also specifies the maximum amounts of qualifying uranium that may be imported each year for 2021-2035.
Currently, qualifying uranium imported for use in the initial core of a new reactor or for the Department of Energy inventory does not count against these limits. The bill eliminates these two exceptions but maintains an exception for uranium imported for reprocessing and reexportation.
No more than 25% of qualifying uranium may be imported each year under a contract other than a contract exclusively for separative work units. (A separative work unit is the standard unit of measurement for effort expended to enrich uranium.)
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on June 8, 2020. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 8, 2020: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM) introduced it on June 8, 2020, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 8, 2020, 2285 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2285 days ago, on June 8, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers