Shimkus offers bipartisan proposal to guide America’s nuclear waste policy reform

U.S. Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) on Tuesday introduced a bipartisan bill that would reform the nation’s nuclear waste regulations.

“If we’re serious about reducing emissions, the reality is nuclear power must remain a robust portion of our energy portfolio,” Rep. Shimkus said this week. “But a failure to resolve the waste issue will compromise this key component of any serious proposal to address climate change.”

Rep. Shimkus on May 14 cosponsored the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019, H.R. 2699, with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA) to amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, according to the congressional record.

Among the 12 members joining Rep. Shimkus as a cosponsor of H.R. 2699 is U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI).

If enacted, H.R. 2699 would ensure the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has adequate funding to construct and operate a multi-generational infrastructure project; and would assist in the resolution of the pending permanent repository license, which would help determine if the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site in Nevada can be licensed and constructed, according to a summary of the bill provided by Rep. Shimkus.

H.R. 2699 also would direct DOE to move forward with a temporary storage program to consolidate spent nuclear fuel from sites with a decommissioned reactor during ongoing work at the Yucca Mountain repository site, among other provisions included in the summary.

“This approach, which simultaneously advances interim storage and permanent disposal, is the only solution to our nation’s nuclear waste stalemate that has gone through the legislative process and earned broad bipartisan support in either chamber,” the congressman said, noting similar legislation that stalled during the previous congressional session.

H.R. 2699 is under review in the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee; the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee; the U.S. House Armed Services Committee; the U.S. House Budget Committee; and the U.S. House Rules Committee.