Energy Department Pressed on Nuclear Fuel, Waste in Budget Bill

House members are seeking to leverage their funding powers to demand the Energy Department speed up work on nuclear waste disposal and cleanup, while more quickly developing new domestic sources of nuclear fuel.

The fiscal 2023 energy and water funding bill (H.R. 8255) advanced by the House Appropriations Committee last week committed to spending $120 million on development of high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU, the specialized fuel for advanced reactors that is currently supplied by Russia. The funding was established by the Energy Act of 2020.

But the department has failed to provide enough information on ...