Public Policy & Engagement

The U.S. House of Representatives pulled an all-nighter this week to narrowly pass (by a vote of 215–214) a revised budget plan Thursday morning and send it to the Senate for a reconciliation vote of its own.

Nuclear advocates have been monitoring the latest language regarding tax credits that have been in place since 2021 to help drive deployment. Earlier versions of the bill called for phasing out the nuclear credits.

Wright

Energy Secretary Chris Wright testified before the U.S. Senate’s Energy and Water Development Subcommittee yesterday to discuss how the Department of Energy would be impacted by the president’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget.

The meeting highlighted concerns from lawmakers about the DOE’s spending and efficiency—pointing to the rise in the department’s budget from $61 billion in FY 2021 to $160 billion last year.

Committee chair John Kennedy (R., La.) called the DOE spending pattern “unsustainable.”

“The average electricity bill . . . for the average American family over the past four years is up 28 percent. That’s the first thing they care about,” Kennedy said. “We’ve got to address it . . . and talk very specifically about what programs are working and what isn’t.”

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is discontinuing its rulemaking activity, “Long-Term and Unattended Water Makeup of Spent Fuel Pools,” and denying a petition for rulemaking. The new rule, as requested by the petitioner, would have required nuclear power plant licensees to ensure that their spent nuclear fuel pools are capable of cooling and maintaining water levels during extended power outages.