NE Washington News

Washington, D.C. — House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, have announced the enactment of H.R. 1042, a legislation to ban Russian uranium imports into the United States.

"It is time for America to end its over-reliance on Russia's uranium supply, which has stunted our domestic nuclear fuel infrastructure and poses a risk to our energy and national security,” said Chair Rodgers. “I commend Senator John Barrasso for his leadership to shepherd this important bill through the Senate, which will ban fuel imports from Russia and help restore American nuclear leadership and fuel security for decades to come."

“Today, we officially ended Russia’s chokehold on America’s uranium supply,” said Senator Barrasso. “I want to thank Chair Rodgers for her leadership in getting this critical bill signed into law. Banning imports of Russian uranium will jumpstart America’s nuclear fuel industry, further defund Russia’s war machine, and help revive American uranium production for decades to come. As our nation’s leading uranium producer, Wyoming is ready to do our part to power American reactors with American nuclear fuel. Russia’s dominance of the world’s nuclear fuel supply chain is coming to an end.”

Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers introduced H.R. 1042 on February 14, 2023. Senator John Barrasso introduced companion legislation S. 763 on March 9, 2023.

The House passed H.R. 1042 by voice vote on December 11, 2023. The Senate passed H.R. 1042 by unanimous consent on April 30, 2024.

H.R. 1042 being signed into law is a necessary prerequisite to unlocking the private capital needed to build a domestic nuclear fuel supply and aligns with the Nuclear Fuel Security Act, legislation to help bolster our domestic uranium and advanced nuclear fuel supplies, which was included in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 and signed into law last December.