PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jan 21, 2016
Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act
This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to revise the objectives for the civilian nuclear energy research and development programs of the Department of Energy (DOE).
DOE shall carry out a specified program to enhance U.S. capabilities to develop new reactor technologies and related systems technologies through high-performance computation modeling and simulation techniques.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
DOE shall: (1) determine the mission need for a versatile reactor-based fast neutron source, which shall operate as a national user facility; and (2) submit a plan to Congress for establishment of such a facility.
DOE may enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to establish a National Nuclear Innovation Center that:
enables the testing and demonstration of reactor concepts to be proposed and funded by the private sector,
establishes and operates a database to store and share data and knowledge on nuclear science between federal agencies and private industry, and
establishes capabilities to develop and test reactor electric and nonelectric integration and energy conversion systems.
DOE shall submit to Congress three alternative 10-year budget plans for civilian nuclear energy research and development.
The NRC shall report to Congress on:
the extent to which it is capable of licensing advanced reactor designs developed under this bill by the end of a specified four-year period, and
any organizational or institutional barriers it will need to overcome to be able to license such designs.
People & committees
Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID] · R–ID
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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