Securing America’s Nuclear Waste Act
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Securing America's Nuclear Waste Act
This bill addresses storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in the United States.
Specifically, the bill requires
the Government Accountability Office to report on the risks to current storage locations for spent nuclear fuel, including spent nuclear fuel from civilian nuclear power reactors, and high-level radioactive waste, including risks that are related to global weather patterns and geography;
the Office of Management and Budget to report on the economic benefits of consolidated interim storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, including economic benefits associated with job growth and redeveloping sites of decommissioned civilian nuclear power reactors; and
the Department of Energy to study and report on an auction process or other system for selecting and entering into contracts with nonfederal entities for consolidated interim storage facilities that are located at a site without an operating nuclear reactor, and for which such entities will hold a license issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on October 9, 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 October 9, 2020: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- 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?
Harley Rouda (D-CA) introduced it on October 9, 2020, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 3 Democrats.
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 October 9, 2020, 2162 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2162 days ago, on October 9, 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