House subcommittee prioritizes Yucca Mountain, R&D in budget

The House Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Subcommittee recently requested in its fiscal year 2018 energy and water spending, which includes significant funding for used fuel and research
and development (R&D) activities.

The budget will now be sent to the full House Appropriations Committee for further consideration.

The budget included $37.6 billion for the Department of Energy (DOE), $209 million lower than 2017
levels but $3.65 billion higher than President Donald Trump’s budget request.

“This bill includes strong funding for nuclear energy, providing research and development (R&D) to ensure
a safe, efficient, and reliable nuclear fleet and laying the foundation for the next generation of nuclear reactors,” Subcommittee Chair Mike Simpson (R-ID) said.

The 2018 budget includes $120 million for used fuel activities, while the 2017 budget only included $85 million. An additional $30 million is designated for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to restart the Yucca Mountain license process.

The NRC would be funded at $939 million, according to the bill. $10 million would be used for advanced reactors not included in fee-based revenue. NRC fee recovery is set at $779 million, which is $23.6 million lower the president’s request and $14.7 million under fiscal year 2017 levels.

While $6.4 billion is designated for environmental management activities, that reflects a $24.6 million decrease from the fiscal year 2017 level. Funding for Defense Environmental Cleanup is set at $5.4 billion and funding for uranium enrichment decommissioning and decontamination cleanup is $768 million.