PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jan 14, 2009
Radioactive Import Deterrence Act - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to prohibit the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) from issuing a license authorizing the importation into the United States of: (1) low-level radioactive waste; or (2) specific radioactive waste streams exempted from regulation by the NRC.
Exempts from such prohibition low-level radioactive waste: (1) being returned to a federal or military facility which is authorized to possess the material; or (2) resulting from the use in a foreign country of nuclear material obtained by the foreign user from an entity in the United States that is being returned to the United States for management and disposal.
Authorizes the President to waive such prohibition and authorize the grant of a specific license to import materials only after finding that such importation would meet an important national or international policy goal, such as the use of waste for research purposes.
Grandfathers certain licenses issued before the date of enactment of this Act, but prohibits their extension or amendment with respect to the amount of material permitted to be imported.
People & committees
Sen. Alexander, Lamar [R-TN] · R–TN
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.232 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.232 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.232 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.232 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.