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 · Nov 20, 2019
Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019
This bill addresses the storage and disposal of nuclear waste.
Among other things, the bill
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to initiate a program to consolidate and temporarily store commercial spent nuclear fuel during the development, construction, and operation of a permanent nuclear waste repository;
addresses federal land withdrawal and related management issues, including the permanent withdrawal of specific federal land for repository use by DOE;
updates the Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing process and conditions for the permanent repository;
limits activities relating to developing a separate defense waste repository used for storing high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel derived from the atomic energy defense activities of DOE;
authorizes DOE to enter into agreements to provide benefits to state, local, and tribal governments that might host or be affected by facilities related to storing nuclear waste;
revises the method by which DOE funds its nuclear waste management activities though the collection and usage of the Nuclear Waste Fund;
creates an Office of Spent Nuclear Fuel within DOE; and
requires DOE to establish a Stranded Nuclear Waste Task Force to study existing resources and funding for communities that contain stranded nuclear waste and develop economic adjustment plans for such communities.
People & committees
Sen. Barrasso, John [R-WY] · R–WY
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.2917 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.2917 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.2917 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.2917 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.