Congress Passes ADVANCE Act to Facilitate U.S. Development of Advanced Nuclear Reactors
On June 18, 2024, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act to accelerate the deployment of nuclear energy capacity, including by accelerating the licensing and creating new incentives for advanced nuclear reactor technologies, among them small modular reactors. The Senate introduced the ADVANCE Act in March 2023, and the House of Representatives passed the Fire Grants and Safety Act, which contains the ADVANCE Act, on May 8, 2024. Now that both houses have passed the Act, it will go to President Joe Biden for signature. Full text of the ADVANCE Act as passed by the Senate can be found here on page 4.
U.S. House Passes GOP Energy Bill
On Thursday, March 30, 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act. The bill — the GOP’s energy policy and permitting bill — passed by a vote of 225 to 204, with four Democrats joining Republicans in voting to pass the bill and one Republican legislator voting against it.